View Ancient Earthworks Walking Tour in a larger map |
Walk the mysterious paths of the ancients...
trace the early signs of civilization to a sacred burial ground.
Begin your journey near the Marietta Arboretum (39.421541 N , 81.465167 W), the place where Sacra Via meets the Muskingum River.
Travel northwest along Sacra Via Park for two blocks.
1 • Marietta Arboretum
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Some of the earliest inhabitants of the place we now know as Marietta left behind some very distinctive evidence of their existence. When the pioneers of the Ohio Company settled the area in 1788, they came upon a grid of ancient earthworks – their purpose unknown. The founders determined to preserve the earthworks, incorporating them into their plans for the new city and designating them public spaces. Ever since, visitors have marveled at the mounds and embankments that ripple through Marietta – the abiding proof of prehistoric civilization. |
2 • The Quadranaou
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A series of embankments, walls, and roads were constructed by ancient hands – exactly when is not known. According to the Book of Marietta (1906), these works "consisted of two enclosures or irregular squares, surrounded by earthen walls or ramparts, and lying between Putnam and Montgomery streets and east of Third Street." The walls were six to ten feet high and as large as 25 to 30 feet across. The largest of the pyramid-like enclosures was about 40 acres, bordered by a road that descended to the Muskingum River. The enclosures were said to resemble flattened pyramids because of the outside slope of their thick walls. Banks of earth no longer mark this sacred way leading up to the pyramid-shaped enclosure, but a portion of the ancient road is known today as Sacra Via. Left - An early survey of Marietta from 1837 plotted the earthworks. Similar maps are exhibited at Campus Martius Museum. |
Continue along Sacra Via to Second Street. Looking towards Third Street, across the green an elevated square is visible.
This is the Quadranaou, which was used as a Civil War training installation. Inside the larger pyramid-shaped enclosure, there were four elevated rectangular areas which resembled square mounds. Two are still visible today. The Quadranaou is the largest of the four.
(We'll travel closer to the Quadranaou on the return trip to Sacra Via.)
3 • The Capitolium
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Turn right on Second Street and travel southeast to the Campus Martius Museum. In addition to housing artifacts from the pioneers, the museum also features information about the earliest people who inhabited the area and the earthworks they left behind. For information about museum hours and admission fees, visit: |
From Second Street, turn left at Washington and travel in a northeasterly direction towards Fifth Street.
This stretch of the tour approximates the location of the perimeter of the southern corner of the largest pyramid enclosure.
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At the intersection of Washington and Fifth is the second remaining elevation - called the Capitolium. In keeping with the founders' intention to preserve the grounds for public use, the Marietta branch of the Washington County Public Library was built on the site. Just to the east of this square there was another smaller elevated area which was once known as St. Cecilia. It has since disappeared. |
4 • Mound Cemetery
At Fifth Street, turn right and travel southeast towards Mound Cemetery. Continue for about three and a half blocks.
The smaller of the once grand prehistoric enclosures, a flat pyramid of about twenty acres, would be divided by Wooster Street east of Fourth. Nothing remains of the embankments that once framed this area. Still visible is an arm that branched out from the square to Marietta's most famous mound – the Conus mound, a prehistoric mound which has become a famous burial place in modern history.
In keeping with the founders' pledge to preserve the earthworks, the largest mound became the site of a cemetery, which seemed a fitting public use. Once called Marie Antoinette Square, Mound Cemetery is the final resting place of more Revolutionary War veterans than any other. Their burial places are denoted on a sign at the foot of the mound.
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In the center of Mound Cemetery stands the Conus mound - thirty feet high and 150 feet in diameter at the base. A circular depression in the ground surrounds the mound like a moat. A rustic stone stairway on the northwest side of the mound leads visitors to a scenic view on its crest. The remains of other earthworks can also be seen on the cemetery grounds. |
5 • Conclusion
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According to early documentation, in Marietta’s early days the Conus mound was partly excavated from the top and a skeleton was found lying in a horizontal position. The remains were put back and no further exploration was performed on the site. Some historians believe the mounds were been built by the Hopewell culture during 100 to 500 AD for use as a ceremonial center. Others say the earthworks were constructed by the Adenas from 800 to 700 BC as part of a mound builder city. |
As with other great wonders of the ancient world, like the Sphinx, the pyramids, and Stonehenge, different cultures have their own legends and theories on the origins of the mounds. The broad term “mound builders” refers not to a particular ethnic group, but to a number of cultures who built earthworks over thousands of years. Their handiwork has been attributed to Vikings, the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, Greeks, Africans, Chinese, people from the lost continent of Atlantis, and the hand of God. Because they remain such an enigma, mounds have inspired many hoaxes. The subject of legends and tales, the mounds have also inspired great art.
Departing the cemetery, travel northwest along Fifth Street towards Washington Street where you’ll have a closer look at the Capitolium.
Continue along Fifth Street to Warren Street. Turn left on Warren and travel one block southwest to Fourth. At Fourth Street, turn right and walk along the northern most portion of Sacra Via and the Quadranaou.
Turn left on Camp Street and continue around the park. Cross Third Street to join Sacra Via and follow the sacred way two blocks southeast to our starting point.
