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11 Most Endangered
Prehistoric Serpent Mound
Year Listed: 1993
Location: , Ohio
Current Status: Saved
Threat: Poor Public Policy
Significance
Serpent Mound, an earthwork in the form of a coiling, 1348-foot-long snake, is the puzzling legacy of a Native American culture long vanished. Archaeologists and historians are not certain who built it, when, or why. First surveyed in 1846, later purchased by Harvard University and eventually turned over to the Ohio Historical Society, this curious effigy was one of the first archaeological sites in the United States to be opened to the public. The mound overlooks the Ohio Brush Creek Valley, the proposed site of a resort complex, golf course, conventions center and 100-acre manmade lake. Scientists state that the lake waters would erode the bluff on which Serpent Mound was built, inundate archaeological sites and preclude further study to unlock the meaning of this mysterious landmark from the ancient past.
Updates
The proposed development was stopped, saving the integrity of the site. A heritage tourism study to explore alternative, sensitive development of the area was completed in 2003. The Ohio Historical Society and the Dayton Society of Natural History are now seeking to nominate Serpent Mound to the World Heritage Sites List. A listing on the World Heritage Sites List elevates local and international awareness about the site's value, further encourages communities to protect and invest in their preservation, and increases potentially beneficial tourism to the site. Currently, there are 830 World Heritage Sites in 138 countries, and there are only 20 in the United States.
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