On Saturday, April 10, 1999, I visited Moundbuilders State Memorial in Newark, Ohio. This site, also known as the "Great Circle", is one of the few remaining traces of a series of earthworks that once covered 4 square miles. It consists of a circular wall 12' - 16' high and an interior ditch enclosing 30 acres. The entrance opens toward the northeast. There is a low pair of walls providing an avenue that once extended for about 1/2 mile, connecting this site to a large square enclosure, where Wright Earthworks State Memorial is now located.
At the center of the circle, there is an effigy mound composed of four conical mounds arranged in the shape of a bird with its head pointing towards the entrance, and a low wall, 200' in length, that creates a partial arc, 100' behind the effigy mound. The mound in the center, representing the body of the bird has been excavated and was found to contain an altar.
From a ground perspective, the earthwork appears to be a perfect circle, but it is actually shaped like an ellipse with diameters of 1150' and 1250'.
When I dowsed along the top of the wall, I found lines of energy corresponding to the edge on each side of the path. These appeared to be part of a series of concentric rings expanding outward from the effigy. I also detected a web-like pattern of lines leading directly toward the center of the site.
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