Cross Mound facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Tarlton Cross Mound
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Tarlton Cross Mound from the west
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | Tarlton State Park, northwest of Tarlton |
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| Nearest city | Tarlton, Ohio |
| Area | Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000489 |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1970 |
The Cross Mound, also known as the Tarlton Cross Mound, is a cool ancient earthwork in Ohio, near the town of Tarlton. An earthwork is a large shape made from moving earth. People built this mound a long time ago. We don't know exactly who built it or when.
This special site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Experts called archaeologists say it's one of many mysterious effigy mounds in Southern Ohio. Effigy mounds are earthworks shaped like animals or symbols.
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Exploring the Cross Mound Site
The Cross Mound is found in Cross Mound Park. This park is near a small river that flows into the Scioto River. The whole park is about 29 acres big. To get to the mound, you walk across a suspension bridge. This bridge was built way back in 1936.
The site used to be inside Tarlton's town limits. That's why it's also called the Tarlton Cross Mound. Today, the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission takes care of the site.
What Does the Cross Mound Look Like?
In the 1840s, two researchers named Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis visited the mound. They wrote about it in their book Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley.
They said the mound was on a "narrow spur of land." The mound itself is shaped like a Greek cross. This means it has four arms of equal length. Each arm was about 90 feet long. The mound was about three feet tall. It also lined up very closely with the main directions (north, south, east, west).
A small ditch went around the cross shape. In the middle of the cross, there was a circle-shaped dip in the ground. Squier and Davis said this dip was 20 feet across and 20 feet deep. Behind the cross, they found a small pile of stone and earth. They thought this might have been an altar.
Squier and Davis also thought the Cross Mound might be connected to the Alligator Effigy Mound. That mound is in Granville, Ohio, not too far away. They also saw smaller mounds near the main cross. A larger hill nearby had "several large mounds" on it too.
Cross Mound Today
Today, the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission looks after the Cross Mound. The Ohio History Connection has studied the site more recently.
They found that the dip in the middle of the cross is actually only 12 inches deep, not 20 feet. Also, Dr. Greg Little thinks the cross itself is four feet high, not three feet. There are still three smaller mounds at the site today.
Who Built the Cross Mound?
The exact age of the Cross Mound is still a mystery. We don't know for sure who built it. Some people think the cross shape might represent the sun. Crosses were often used as sun symbols by the Mississippian culture.
Some experts believe the Fort Ancient peoples built it. However, the National Park Service and others suggest it was built by the Hopewell culture.
Dr. Jarrod Burks, an archaeologist, says there isn't enough proof to say the Hopewell culture built it. But he does think it was probably built during the Middle Woodland period. This period was roughly between 1 and 500 CE.
Other effigy mounds nearby, like the Alligator Effigy Mound and Serpent Mound, were built after 1,000 AD. These were built by the Fort Ancient peoples. Dr. Burks thinks the Cross Mound might also have been built by them.
Gallery
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Site view from the west
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Site view from the southwest
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Site view from the southeast
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Site view from the south
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Site view from the east
