Who Built The Great Serpent Mound? And Why?

The Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, built between 800 BC and AD 400. This protected historical earthworks is nearly a quarter of a mile long and represents a giant snake holding an egg in its jaws. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

Ohio seems like an odd place for one of the world’s largest and most mysterious prehistoric, man-made effigies, and yet there it is. The Great Serpent Mound, in Adams County, Ohio, is one of the strangest and most fascinating places on earth and demonstrates the incredible engineering and innovation of an ancient group of people. At 1,376 feet, it is the longest snake effigy on the planet and the design is quite remarkable, especially when viewed from above. But who built the Great Serpent Mount? And why was it built in Ohio? And, more importantly, what was the reason for its construction? Spoiler alert: archeologists don’t have definitive answers to these questions. In fact, trying to answer these questions has only created more questions.