Swallow Bluff Island Mounds
Encyclopedia
The Swallow Bluff Island Mounds (40HR16) is a Mississippian culture
archaeological site
located near Saltillo
on an island in the Tennessee River
in Hardin County, Tennessee
.
or Savannah Mound Sites. The site featured two platform mound
s, a plaza
and a village area. When Clarence Bloomfield Moore
visited the site in 1914 he recorded the larger mounds dimensions as a square 130 feet (39.6 m) base, 50 feet (15.2 m) diameter top platform area and as being 18 feet (5.5 m) in height. Excavations in 2003 revealed the mound had been built up in four different construction stages. Moore also described the mound as being very close to the river, although he did not record how close. By the late twentieth century the river had encroached onto the mound and by the early 2000s a significant amount of it had been eroded away.
and other artifacts. He found over twenty stone box grave
s at the summit of the mound. After his visit the site would go without notice again, except by locals and looters, for almost seventy 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 mound as possible before it was completely claimed by the river.
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
located near Saltillo
Saltillo, Tennessee
Saltillo is a town in Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 303 at the 2010 census. Saltillo is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River, about 12 miles north of Savannah, Tennessee.-History:...
on an island in the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles 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...
in Hardin County, Tennessee
Hardin County, Tennessee
Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. State of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 26,026. The Hardin County seat is Savannah. The county was named posthumously for Col. Joseph Hardin, a Revolutionary War soldier and a legislative representative for the Province of North Carolina and...
.
Site
The Swallow Bluff Island Mound Site is the northernmost outpost of the Mississippian culture Shiloh polity, a group of communities centered on the much larger ShilohShiloh Indian Mounds Site
Shiloh Indian Mounds Site is a Mississippian culture archaeological site of the prehistoric indigenous peoples of eastern North America...
or Savannah Mound Sites. The site featured two platform mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
s, a plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
and a village area. When Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore was an American archaeologist and writer...
visited the site in 1914 he recorded the larger mounds dimensions as a square 130 feet (39.6 m) base, 50 feet (15.2 m) diameter top platform area and as being 18 feet (5.5 m) in height. Excavations in 2003 revealed the mound had been built up in four different construction stages. Moore also described the mound as being very close to the river, although he did not record how close. By the late twentieth 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 potteryMississippian culture pottery
Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the Mississippian culture found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of...
and other artifacts. He found over twenty stone box grave
Stone box grave
Stone box graves were a method of burial employed by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in the American Midwest and Southeast. Their construction was especially common in the Cumberland River Basin around Nashville, Tennessee-Construction:...
s at the summit of the mound. After his visit the site would go without notice again, except by locals and looters, for almost seventy 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 mound as possible before it was completely claimed by the river.