Savannah Archaeological Site Explained

Savannah Archaeological Site
Map Type:USA Tennessee#USA
Coordinates:35.2251°N -88.2558°W
Location:Hardin County, Tennessee United States
Region:Hardin County, Tennessee
Cultures:South Appalachian Mississippian culture
Architectural Styles:platform mounds, plaza
Notes:Responsible body: private
Precolumbian:yes

The Savannah Archaeological Site in Hardin County, Tennessee, is a prehistoric complex of platform mounds and village of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture, a regional variation of Mississippian culture.

Site description

The Mississippian culture village and mound complex is located on the eastern bank of the Tennessee River and is covered by the modern city of Savannah, Tennessee.[1] The 16 mounds[2] form a zig-zag line of nearly a mile along the Tennessee River. The largest of the platform mounds is located at the center of the site, and was 30feet in height. A trench circling along the east side of this line connects with the river, at the north end and at the south end, thus the river to the west and the trench to the east, entirely encircled this ancient village. These have never been extensively excavated.

In 1830, David Robinson, a wealthy landowner and local planter, built a Federal-style home overlooking the Tennessee River on one of the mounds. The house is now known as the Cherry Mansion.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Thruston, Gates Phillips. Gates Phillips Thruston. 1890. The antiquities of Tennessee and the adjacent states, and the state of aboriginal society in the scale of civilization represented by them: A series of historical and ethnological studies. The R. Clarke Company. 42–45.
  2. Mississippian capitals : an archaeological investigation of Precolumbian political structure. doctor. University of Florida. 1994. 86.
  3. Web site: The History of Cherry Mansion. 2011-05-07.