Portsmouth Earthworks

Originally, the Portsmouth Earthworks consisted of three sections extending over twenty miles of the Ohio River valley, crossing from Ohio to Kentucky in several places. It was surveyed and mapped by E. G. Squier in 1847 for inclusion in the seminal archaeological and anthrolopological work Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley.{{cite book|title=Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley|year=1848|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|pages=179–187|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4301/view/1/179/|author=Ephraim George Squier|author2=Edwin Hamilton Davis}}

File:Horseshoe Mound in Portsmouth.jpg

The northernmost section was made up of a number of circular enclosures, two large horseshoe-shaped enclosures, and three sets of parallel-walled roads leading away in different directions. One set of walled roads extends across the Ohio River into South Portsmouth, Kentucky to the southwest to Portsmouth Earthworks, Group A. Another set of walled roads lead to the southeast where it also crossed the Ohio River and lead to Portsmouth Earthworks, Group C. The third set of walled roads lead to the northwest for an undetermined distance, and may point to Tremper Mound and Works, some 5 miles away. The City of Portsmouth maintains a public park which includes one of the remaining horseshoe-shaped enclosures, known as Mound Park, it is the only publicly accessible part of the complex. Under the name Horseshoe Mound it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

In 2019 two independent scholars proposed that the Group B mounds represent part of an eight-mile-long female effigy mound, which the authors propose depicts "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky," a Native American myth about human origins found among the indigenous peoples of North America.[https://ohioarchaeology.org/journal-of-ohio-archaeology/144-volume-6-2019/556-the-woman-who-fell-from-the-sky-and-the-portsmouth-ohio-hopewell-earthworks George Horton and Terry Stocker, "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky and the Portsmouth, Ohio Hopewell Earthworks," Journal of Ohio Archaeology 6:1-15, 2019] If true, this would make it the longest effigy mound known, although much of the structure was destroyed by the city of Portsmouth.[https://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/features/38951/new-archeology-study-says-local-mound-was-huge-native-american-religious-figure Tom Corrigan, "New archeology study says local mound was huge Native American religious figure," Portsmouth Daily Times, July 2, 2019] The authors link the mounds to the story of He-nau-ee, as told by the Meskwaki Indians, possible descendants of the Hopewell mound builders. Other archeologists have cast doubt on the theory.[https://www.dispatch.com/news/20191103/archaeology-not-enough-evidence-to-say-portsmouth-earthworks-show-woman-who-fell-from-sky Brad Lepper, "Archaeology: Not enough evidence to say Portsmouth Earthworks show ‘Woman Who Fell from the Sky’," Columbus Dispatch, Nov 3, 2019]

File:Portsmouth Earthworks, Group A, wall remnant.jpg

Also known as the Old Fort Earthworks (15Gp1) it is a series of rectangular enclosures near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky. Group A is a large square enclosure with two series of parallel walls extending from the northeast and southwest corners. The Old Fort Earthworks consist of several sites, including the Old Fort Earthworks (15Gp1), Mays Mound (15Gp16), Hicks Mound (15Gp265), Stephenson Mound (15Lw139), and several other unnamed mounds and enclosures. It is also the location of Lower Shawneetown, a protohistoric/historic Fort Ancient and Shawnee settlement and colonial trading post which are all part of the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District,{{citation|url=http://heritage.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7FD10722-66D5-4987-A3A3-19A6E27BCFA0/0/TheArchaeologyofKentuckyAnUpdateVolume1NEW.pdf|title=The Archaeology of Kentucky:an update|volume=1|chapter=Chapter 5:Woodland period|publisher=Kentucky Heritage Council|year=2008|editor=Pollack, David|last=Applegate|first=Darlene|pages=524–525|isbn=978-1-934492-28-4|access-date=November 3, 2010|archive-date=November 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108174316/http://heritage.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7FD10722-66D5-4987-A3A3-19A6E27BCFA0/0/TheArchaeologyofKentuckyAnUpdateVolume1NEW.pdf|url-status=dead}} along with the Thompson and Hansen sites

Group C was a large series of concentric circles surrounding a high central conical mound. This section of the earthworks is located in Greenup County, Kentucky several miles to the east of South Shore, but connected to Group B by a causeway that ran down to the Ohio River.

File:Biggs Site at Sunset HRoe 2022 325px.jpg

Located to the west or downriver of Group C is the Biggs site (15Gp8) or Portsmouth Earthworks Group D. Biggs was an Adena culture circular causewayed embankment {{convert|5|feet}} high by {{convert|30|feet}} wide encircling a ditch {{convert|6|feet}} deep and {{convert|25|feet}} across. They encompassed an area {{convert|90|feet}} in diameter. In the center of the ditch was a conical tumulus {{convert|8|feet}} high and {{convert|40|feet}} in diameter. It was not only mapped by Squier and Davis, they also included a small illustration of the feature.{{cite book|author=E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis| title=Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley| publisher=Smithsonian Institution|year= 1848 }}

File:Portsmouth Works Group A B C D Squier and Davis 01.jpg

File:Portsmouth Works Group A Squier and Davis 01.jpg

File:Portsmouth Works Group B Squier and Davis 01.jpg

File:Portsmouth Works Group C Squier and Davis 01.jpg

• List of Hopewell sites

{{reflist}}

• [https://sciotohistorical.org/tours/show/22 Scioto Historical : Portsmouth Earthworks Tour]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcZrGnCRKB8&ab_channel=SSUCenterforPublicHistory The Portsmouth Earthworks Complex]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6BMUdmfy-o&ab_channel=TheStrangeRoad Portsmouth Earthworks Complex Artifacts]
• [https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Portsmouth_Earthworks OHC Portsmouth Earthworks]
• [https://30daysofkentuckyarchaeology.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/the-portsmouth-earthworks-and-the-jim-king-mound-in-kentucky/ The Portsmouth Earthworks and the Jim King Mound in Kentucky]

{{commons category|Portsmouth Earthworks}}

{{Adena culture}}

{{Hopewellian peoples}}

{{Pre-Columbian North America}}

{{Registered Historic Places}}

Category:Adena culture

Category:Ohio Hopewell

Category:Fort Ancient culture

Category:Native American history of Kentucky

Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky

Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Scioto County, Ohio

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Greenup County, Kentucky

Category:Mounds in Ohio