Stubbs Earthworks
Stubbs Earthworks – Bigfoot Works · Little Miami Works
Middle Woodland Hopewell (100 BCE–200 CE)·Hopewell (Little Miami)·🇺🇸 Ohio, Warren County, United States
About
About Stubbs Earthworks
Massive Hopewell enclosure at confluence of Turtle and Little Miami Rivers, 700 m long irregular rectangular enclosure (12 ha) with 1.5 m embankments and deep 2 m exterior ditch, featuring timber circle (Woodhenge) 40 m diameter of 150 posts dated 40 BCE–80 CE and two great mounds: Big Foot (5 m conical) and House Mound burial. Excavated 1870s–2000s; majority destroyed by Little Miami High School campus, surviving segments protected as NRHP district. Timber circle aligns to winter solstice sunrise—earliest known Woodhenge in Eastern Woodlands.
Why it mattersLargest Hopewell enclosure in Warren County; timber circle is prototype for Cahokia Woodhenge; demonstrates Hopewell solar cosmology transfer.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Was timber circle calendrical vs elite residence footprint
- 02Relation to nearby Fort Ancient Hilltop
Theories
- 01Ceremonial center managing Little Miami ritual district
- 02Woodhenge as agricultural calendar regulator
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.100 BCE–100 CE
- Period
- Middle Woodland Hopewell (100 BCE–200 CE)
- Culture
- Hopewell (Little Miami)
- Purpose
- Mortuary enclosure and solar observatory (timber circle)
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.100 BCE–100 CE
Initial construction
c. 1053 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
39.3572° N · 84.1603° W · 210 m · 2 mapped features
Great Rectangular Enclosure
earthwork700 m irregular rectangle, 12 ha, 1.5 m banks
39.3574° N · 84.1605° WStubbs Woodhenge (timber circle)
woodhenge40 m diameter post circle, 150 posts, solstice aligned
39.3569° N · 84.1601° W
Gallery