Lion’s Mound - The Battle of Waterloo

In Girl in the Glass, Declan learns there is a second half to the Hesperus Prophecy. “Victory I Predict Beginning Where Napoleon Battle Ends.”

The Clypeate believes the prophecy refers to the Battle of Waterloo, where on June 18, 1815, a coalition of European nations defeated Napoleon Bonaparte, ending his reign and concluding the Napoleonic Wars.

To commemorate the victory, a manmade earthen hill was constructed at the battle site, using materials from the surrounding fields. The monument is known as the Lion’s Mound, due to the 15-foot-tall cast-iron lion capping the grassy hill. The Lion’s Mound is 140 feet tall, 550 feet wide, and built with 400,000 cubic yards of dirt, enough to fill 120 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The colossal statue atop the Lion's Mound depicts a lion standing on a stone pedestal, with one paw resting on a sphere, symbolizing global victory. The statue faces towards France, representing the Allied victory over Napoleon.

The Lion’s Mound may not be as tall as the Washington Monument or as massive as Pikes Peak, but it’s large enough for the Obturavi to hide an Epistolith underneath.

Lion’s Mound location near Waterloo, Belgium, marked with a red pin

The Lion’s Mound

Lion’s Mound construction 1823-26

Cast-iron statue atop the Lion’s Mound