The Panther Intaglio in Fort Atkinson is a cavity 125 feet long and two feet deep on the north side of the Rock River.[2] The shape of the hole has been described as a lizard, a panther, and a water spirit.
“Intaglio” is a printmaking term and roughly refers to something that's depressed or incised. In mounds it means the effigy is depressed into the ground rather than rising above like most of the rest of the mounds.
Discovered in 1850 by Increase Lapham, this intaglio was believed to have been excavated for ceremonial purposes by the American Indians of the Effigy Mound Culture about 1000 C.E. Of ten other recorded intaglios – eight “panthers” and two “bears”, this is the only one remaining (and the only one of this type in the world). The panther is a part of what used to be the Riverside Mound Group which contained 13 other more typical mounds.
Lapham termed the shape a "lizard" as a convenience, acknowledging that he didn't know what it was intended to represent.[7] Later archaeologists called them panthers and water spirits. Some speculate that water spirits constituted many of the intaglio mounds because water spirits are associated with the lower world, more like a depression in the ground than a mound above.
**In order to claim this virtual find, you must visit the Intaglio which is partially fenced by a split rail fence, a part of which is pictured here. Count how many fence posts make up the parts of the split rail fence and message your answer to the cache owner.**
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.