Riddle of Circles and Squares

Riddle of Circles and Squares. . The Hopewell constructed earthworks in combinations of circles, squares, and octagons, sometimes incorporating other more unique shapes, such as the D-shaped enclosure you see at Hopewell Mound Group. Design similarities at five sites within only a few miles of each other along the main channel of Paint Creek are striking. Seip, Baum, Works East, Liberty, and Frankfort all include a large circle, a small circle, and a square with the squares being of nearly equal size. Did they serve a common purpose? What was the significance of size and shape? One possibility is that they were designed as primitive observatories with unique. alignments that tracked astronomical events, such as the movement of the sun and moon. Today, we continue to search for the meaning behind these extraordinary designs., The east wall, pictured here in 1891, was once six feet high. The walls of the square enclosure were lower and now are invisible., The similarity of building design between Seip Earthworks, Seal Works, Hopewell Mound Group, and many others is striking. Each has a large enclosure with an attached square. The purpose of the square enclosure is unknown.