Seip Earthworks

On my recent road trip, my last stop in Ohio was at Seip Earthworks, located just off US 50, about 15 miles west of Chillicothe.  This was very much a return visit, the third time I've been to the place.  Back in 2002, it was part of an archaeological tour that I went on.  In 2003, I decided to swing through Ohio on my way back to Maryland from a wedding in southern Indiana, and stopped in at Seip.  During those two trips, the site was called Seip Mound, after the artificial construction of the same name.  The area is now a unit of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, the ownership having been transferred from the Ohio History Connection to the National Park Service in 2014.  The NPS unit seems to be quite a bit larger in area than the old state-owned site.  Here is the north side of Seip Mound, reached by walking southward a few hundred yards from US 50.

This is the interpretive display just in front of the mound.

Here's the south side of Seip Mound, with some tall grass in the foreground.

The area that's been cleared of grass is the site of a house built long ago near the mound.  Each wooden peg indicates the location of a log that had been inserted into the ground.  I think that the modern structures in the background are part of a high school athletic field.

These two small mounds are part of the earthworks that surrounded the main mound.

After I took this last picture, it was time to hop back in the Bigfootmobile and drive on to the next stop, Serpent Mound, which had also been on my 2002 tour.  Unfortunately, as I arrived there, not only was it starting to rain, but I heard some thunder.  Rain is one thing, but thunder and lightning are another, especially since Serpent Mound is surrounded by trees, and has a metal observation platform.  Any return visit will therefore have wait until some future trip.

For more on Seip Earthworks, go to Ohio Exploration Society, TrekOhio(dot)com, ScienceViews, Touring Ohio and Ohio History Connection (the site's former owner).