Dunlap Works facts for kids

The Dunlap Works are ancient earthworks built by the Hopewell tradition people. These amazing structures are found in Ross County, Ohio, in the United States. They are about 6 miles (10 km) north of Chillicothe, right next to the Scioto River. It's important not to mix them up with other earthworks near Dunlap's Station in Hamilton County.

Exploring the Dunlap Earthworks

In 1846, two researchers named Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis visited the Dunlap Works. They carefully studied the site. In 1848, they shared what they found in their book, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley.

What Squier and Davis Found

Squier and Davis reported that one main part of the earthworks was shaped like a rhomboid. This is a shape with four sides, where opposite sides are equal in length. From this rhomboid, a long path, or avenue, stretched out.

One side of this avenue went southwest for about 1,130 feet (344 meters). The other side was shorter and ended at a small circle. On the west side of the rhomboid, the land was higher, like a raised plain. This raised area was about 80 feet (24 meters) wide and 280 feet (85 meters) long. From this high plain, you could look down at another, even larger earthwork. A big opening, like a gateway, allowed people to enter this larger area.

Pathways and Mounds

The long avenue ended about 60 feet (18 meters) before another large gateway. This gateway was very wide, about 120 feet (37 meters) across. At the end of the avenue, there was a small mound. Another mound was located just south of the main earthwork. This mound was surrounded by a ditch and a low wall of earth, called an embankment.

About half a mile (0.8 km) away, near the avenue, there was a group of other mounds on lower ground. One of these mounds was quite tall, about 15 feet (4.6 meters) high. It was 100 feet (30 meters) wide at its base. The top of this mound was flat, or truncated, and was 50 feet (15 meters) wide.

Squier and Davis thought that the lower parts of the site might have been flooded sometimes. They wrote that during a big flood in 1832, a family used the flat-topped mound as a safe place. They brought their horses, cattle, and belongings to the top of the mound to escape the rising water.

Discoveries at the Mounds

When the flat-topped mound was dug into, human skeletons were found. They were buried about two to five feet (0.6 to 1.5 meters) deep inside the mound. Squier and Davis believed these were the skeletons of "modern Indians."

They also found pieces of broken pottery, called Sherds, and shells in and around the mound. More Pottery was discovered when the land was later used for farming. Squier and Davis guessed that this pottery was also made by "modern" Native peoples.