The Circular Enclosure

The Circular Enclosure. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park. In 1916 Myer called this area the "Eastern Citadel." It is made up of a great circle that contains Mound 29 and, then, Mound 30 just beyond., Recent research has helped to show that the roughly circular enclosure at Pinson is much like mound walls in a circular form found at other Middle Woodland ceremonial sites in the eastern United States. These enclosures were not built for defense but rather as a means to define a sacred space. The 1000 foot diameter geometric enclosure is still clearly visible, although parts of the enclosure have been lost to erosion., Mound 29, a platform mound that marks the southeast corner of the Pinson complex, is located within the enclosure., Captions , Middle Left: The "Eastern Citadel" , Lower Left: The diameter is 1000 feet for the circular geometric enclosure at Pinson Mounds. , Lower Right: Ohio's Millford Circle (left) fits almost perfectly over the geometric enclosure at Pinson in this Dr. Robert Mainfort study. Below, the straight lines are part of the Milford map, while the Pinson circle lies almost entirely beneath the Milford circle on this topographic map of the Eastern Citadel at Pinson Mounds. , Courtesy of Dr. Robert C. Mainfort III's book, Pinson Mounds, Middle Woodland Ceremonialism in the Midsouth.