History
Alligator Effigy Mound in Granville, Ohio, is a rare prehistoric earthwork of the Fort Ancient culture, built between about AD 800 and 1200 and likely dating to around AD 950. Shaped as a reptile-like figure, it was probably ceremonial rather than funerary, with no evidence of burials. Early surveyors recorded its large scale, elevated setting, and a central stone-covered mound with signs of burning, reached by a graded way, suggesting deliberate symbolic design. Modern archaeology has questioned whether the figure represents an alligator, proposing instead an underwater panther from Native American tradition. It remains one of only two surviving effigy mounds known in Ohio.
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Newark, Ohio · United States
