The Swallow Bluff Island Mounds ( 40HR16) comprise a

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

located near

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

on Swallow Bluff Island in the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

Hardin County, Tennessee Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. The county seat is Savannah. Hardin County is located north of and along the borders of Mississippi and Alabama. The county was ...

Site

The Swallow Bluff Island Mounds site is the northernmost outpost of the Mississippian culture Shiloh polity, a group of communities centered on the much larger Shiloh or avannah Mound sites. The site featured two platform mounds, a plaza">platform_mound.html" ;"title="avannah Mound sites. The site featured two platform mound">avannah Mound sites. The site featured two platform mounds, a plaza, and a village area. When Clarence Bloomfield Moore visited the site in 1914, he recorded the larger mounds' dimensions as a square base, with a-diameter top platform area, and as being in height. Excavations in 2003 revealed the mound had been built up in four different construction stages. Moore also described the mounds as being very close to the river, although he did not record how close. By the late 20th century, the river had encroached onto the mound, and by the early 2000s, a significant amount of it had been eroded away.

Excavations

In his 1914 visit, C. B. Moore dug into the main mound looking for

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

and other artifacts. He found over 20

stone box grave Stone box graves were a method of burial used by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in the Midwestern United States and the Southeastern United States. Their construction was especially common in the Cumberland River Basin, in settleme ...

s at the summit of the mound. After his visit, the site went without notice again, except by locals and looters, for almost 70 years. In the early 1980s, archaeologist Gerald Smith visited the site to investigate suspected pot looters holes, although they may actually been the remnants of Moore's "excavations". After a disastrous flood in 2003, archaeological surveys and excavations were undertaken to learn as much about the main mound as possible before it was completely claimed by the river.

References

External links

Developer Neglects Site, Blames State

Archaeology at Shiloh Indian mounds, 1899-1999 By Paul D. Welch

AIM Report: Al Gore’s Embarrassing Uncle
{{Pre-Columbian North America Middle Mississippian culture Archaeological sites in Tennessee Geography of Hardin County, Tennessee Mounds in Tennessee

Site

Excavations

See also

References

External links