Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2015 - 10

FROM THE TRENCHES
hidden, internal structures. This proĥ
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or refracted, even among similar subĥ
Further, by analyzing the handwriting
stances. ÒIt was clear to
style on these papyri,
me that this technique
they were able to date
could be decisive for
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reading the Herculaneĥ
and 50 B.C. Its resemĥ
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Herculaneum papyri
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led the team to conĥ
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clude that one of their
nique,Ó says Mocella.
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two scrolls, housed at
Philodemus. The project
the French Institute,
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Tennessee is rich in Native American
heritage, including collections of
mounds and other earthworks built
by large ancient communities, some
with ritual functions and others to
contain burials. Unfortunately, most
of these sites have been destroyed
over the years to make way for
farms, highways, and new buildings.
The Pinson Mounds complex, however, located in western Tennessee,
has survived largely intact and is the
biggest archaeological mound site
in the American Southeast. Today
the complex covers more than 400
acres with at least 45 man-made
mounds, and there were probably
more in the past. Of these, 17 are
easily visible today and five are

large rectangular platform mounds
up to 70 feet tall. Built during the
Middle Woodland Period (ca. 200
B.C.-A.D. 400), the mounds became a major pilgrimage center for
people across the region-from as
far away as Georgia and Louisiana.
According to Tim Poole, Manager of
Pinson Mounds State Archaeological
Park, the monuments are evidence
of "great skills in mathematics,
geometry, and physics."

The site
The Pinson Mounds complex is located
within the 1,250-acre Pinson Mounds
State Archaeological Park, and visitors
can explore six miles of walking trails
in and around the mounds. The largest mound is
Sauls' Mound,
at 72 feet
the second
tallest mound
in North
America, after
Monks Mound
at Cahokia in
Illinois. The
steep, wooded mound has
a staircase for
climbing to a
viewing platform at the
top, where, on
Sauls' Mound, Pinson Mounds, Tennessee
a clear day,

10

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ÒUntil now this has been a project
driven by curiosity, and we are waiting
for further support.Ó
Many of the ancient worldÕs literary
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only seven of the purported 123 plays
of Sophocles exist today. It remains to
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lie among the unread Herculaneum
papyri. But according to Mocella, there
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Roman literature, especially since addiĥ
tional scrolls may still be discovered in
the unexcavated parts of the villa.
ħ-$62185%$186

one can see for 14 miles. Some people
believe, says Poole, that it took more
than a century to build Sauls' Mound-
a single basket of earth at a time.
Another intriguing earthwork is the
Eastern Citadel, a low geometric ritual
enclosure that forms a near-perfect
semicircle 1,200 feet across.
Some of the other earthworks at
the site were constructed speciﬁcally
for burial of the dead. The largest of
these, the Twin Mounds (or Mound
6), consists of a pair of intersecting
conical mounds, each about 23 feet
tall and 80 feet in diameter. Partial
excavation of the northern Twin
Mound provided a rare view of a large,
undisturbed Middle Woodland burial:
the tomb of three men with eight
women surrounding them in a circle,
all buried wearing headdresses and
copper jewelry.
While youÕre there
After walking the park's trails, visitors
should check out the Pinson Mounds
Museum, built within a replica of a
platform mound. Downtown Jackson,
Tennessee, is only nine miles away, and
has great restaurants and the Casey
Jones Village, complete with an oldtime general store. Jackson also has a
railroad museum and another dedicated to rockabilly. And if that's not
enough history and music, Nashville is
only two hours east on I-40.
-MALIN GRUNBERG BANYASZ

ARCHAEOLOGY * May/June 2015
Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - May/June 2015
