|
|
||
|
|
||
|
It almost puts me in tears to know that this is
one of the last Mounds I will ever visit down here in Florida. I have done
so many visits to native American sites that it has almost become part of
me. You hear all these stories about how people visit such sites and have
horrible experiences. But this is not the case with me some of the best
moments spent of my life have taken place at such mounds such as holding a
girls hand....getting lost in the woods with my pals...toking up some
green on a mound and this location will always perhaps stick out more then
any other.
The Shell Mound sits in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and is roughly five acres wide....and 28 feet high. When you sit on top of it and lookout...it looks like an eternity of marshlands and creeks totally amazing. On top of the mound many old ancient oaks grow on top of it with the roots uplifting layers of shells. The midden here they say is over 3,500 years old and was erected by the Tumucuan Indians. The refuge is roughly 53,000 acres and is one of the largest undeveloped river deltas estuarine systems in this country. There is many off shore islands and tidal creeks which create a very abundant wildlife habitat. There is swallow tailed kites, bald eagles, gulf sturgeons, white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkeys, and Manatees which are found all around the refuge. There is also tidal flats, hardwood swamps, pine forest and salt marshes which house thousands of animals both small and large. The mound is part of the refuge a very small part where two trails actually exist one going around and one that tours the delta area. It was erected by the Archaic period Eastern Woodland Indian Cultures who would discard the oyster and clam shells which were their main food source. The area was inhabited by this culture for over a 1000 years. Before the mound was a historical site.....the materials from the mound were used for road construction so the entire mound is not in tact. © By Lord Rick |
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
