Squier and Davis: 1848 Ephraim George Squier and
Edwin Hamilton Davis visited the site in the mid 1840s. They would discuss their survey in their 1848 publication
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. They describe the location of the work as occupying a "narrow spur of land,". They describe the design of the work as a
Greek cross. The work was three feet high and 90 feet apart on each end and closely matches the
cardinal directions. A small
ditch surrounded it, following the design of the cross. In the middle of the cross was a
circle shaped
depression. The depression was noted as being 20 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. Towards what they describe as the "back" of the cross was "a small circular elevation of
stone and
earth." (Later to be described by contemporary surveyors as a "small stone mound".) They believed it to be an
altar. Squier and Davis believed that this installation represented a connection with the
Alligator Effigy Mound in nearby
Granville, Ohio. Near the main site, they noted a collection of smaller
mounds. A larger
hill near the cross was described as having "several large mounds". Despite the suggestion of that the Hopewells designed the work, Dr. Jarrod Burks of Ohio Valley Archaeology states, "not enough evidence exists to support this claim." Burks does believe that the site was probably built during the
Middle Woodland period. Other
effigy mounds in the area,
Alligator Effigy Mound and
Serpent Mound, are both dated after 1,000 AD. This dates them as being built by the Fort Ancient peoples, and Burks believes the same might be true for Cross Mound. ==Gallery==