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new acquisition
The Mystery of Sacred Circles
The Conservancy obtains an Adena site with great research potential.
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The rolling hills of Kentucky’s Silver Creek Watershed south of Lexington are home to some of the southernmost Adena earthworks in the country. The valley’s concentration of prehistoric mounds, rockshelters, and open land made it attractive to Adena People. Amid the many classic Adena conical mounds surrounding Silver Creek is the Bogie Circles earthwork.
Sitting on a prominent ridge, Bogie Circle gives beautiful views of the valley below. One of the site’s two circles was destroyed by barn construction generations ago. The Archaeological Conservancy has acquired the remaining circle and is working to acquire other sites in the Silver Creek locale. The Conservancy previously acquired the Round Hill Mound, an Adena conical mound located about 10 miles downstream from the Bogie Circle.
The Bogie Circle is one of the best-preserved examples of an Adena “Sacred Circle” in Kentucky. A ditch about 3 feet deep and 75 feet in diameter was excavated on the ridge top, and the dirt from the ditch piled to the outside creating a mound about 3 feet high. A causeway about six feet wide bridges the ditch. There is no obvious mound present in the center, but a historic cemetery is located there.
The function of sacred circles is not known. Antiquarians of the 19th century, who were among the first to discover and map many of these mounds and earthworks, originally thought the earthworks to be defensive structures enclosing villages or hamlets. Archaeologists, however, have demonstrated that most Adena earthworks yield only small amounts of domestic refuse, suggesting that they
An artist’s depiction of the site as it once was. The Conservancy preserved the extant circle on the right. The other circle was destroyed long ago by barn construction.
were not habitation sites. The most plausible explanation for the earthworks is that prehistoric peoples performed rituals and ceremonies within them, although the exact nature of the rituals that took place within them remains unknown.
Bogie Circle is one of the last remaining sacred circle sites in Kentucky. The site’s owners, Clyde and Peggy Long, recognize its considerable research potential and that the urban sprawl from nearby Richmond, Kentucky, threatens the whole Silver Creek Watershed. As a result, they agreed to sell the site to the Conservancy to protect it. Earthworks like Bogie Circle have much to teach us. —Joe Navari
Conservancy Plan of Action
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Bogie Circle
SITE: Bogie Circle
CULTURE & TIME PERIOD: Adena,200 B.C.–A.D. 300 STATUS: Threatened by urban sprawl. ACQUISITION: The Conservancy is purchasing 2.2 acres for $26,000. HOW YOU CAN HELP: Please send contributions to The Archaeological Conservancy, Attn:Project Bogie Circle, 5301 Central Ave. NE, Suite 902,Albuquerque, NM 87108-1517.
