Tarlton Cross Mound

Tarlton is a little town just southeast of Circleville. Seems kind of quaint. And it’s home to one of the more interesting earthworks we saw on this leg of the tour.

Disregarding the “Park Closed” signs, we trekked through the woods and up the hill until we found the Tarlton Cross Mound. It has eroded over the years, so it’s difficult to see. And pictures just don’t do it justice.

There are four arms in a square cross and a small pit at the center.. Interestingly, each arm is aimed precisely in a cardinal direction: north, south, east and west. Coincidence? Probably not. A plaque at the site indicates it may have been a direction finder. Essentially, it was a huge compass rose.

But, thousands of years ago, how did they know exactly which way was which? The sun comes up in a different spot every day. The moon is in a different position each time it rises and sets. Did they use the equinox to set their points? How did they figure out the equinox?!