Kolomoki Mounds State Park Things to Do

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Mound F is about 6 feet high and sixty feet long by fifty feet wide. It contains a 30 foot square white clay platform. Artifacts show this mound was constructed during the Weeden Island period. Mound H has the same approximate dimensions as Mound F, and a yellow clay platform. It is speculated the mound was used in the burail ceremony for the leader buried in Mound D.

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Mound E is another burial mound. It was the first one in the Kolomoki Area scientifically excavated. There were four bodies and 54 complete pottery items found in the mound. Radiocarbon dating also shows this to be the oldest mound in the area; it was constructed around 170 BC. The mound remains as the archeologists left it to give visitors a unique perspective into how the archeologists excavate a mound to learn its secrets.

Mound D is the second largest mound on site after the Temple Mound. It is 20 feet high and 100 feet in diameter. The mound was constructed to bury a very importatnt leader alomg with sacrificed servants, trophy skulls, wives and sevants. This is one of the largest and most elaborate burial mounds in the southeastern United States. Radiocarbon dating show the mound was constructed around 30 AD.

Mound C is located north of Temple Mound at the same distance as Mound B. It is speculated that Mound C consists of sweepings from Temple Mound. The lack of developed sod lines shows the mound was built in a continuous operation not all at once.

Mound B is also a very interesting mound and it poses more questions than answers. This mound is due south of Temple Mound and had a series of posts from 24 to 30 inches in diameter that could be raised one at a time. Archeologists have speculated the mound was used as a game field or for additional religious ceremonies. Artifacts from all periods were found in and around the mound. There is an informative sign about the mound; but the mound itself was difficult for my sister and I to spot.

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The most obvious mound in the park is the large one called Temple Mound. This was used for religious ceremonies. It has a good view of the plaza where most of the approximately 1500 to 2000 inhabitants lived and the rest of the settlement. Temple Mound was built about 700 years ago, is 56 feet high and measures 200 by 325 feet at the base. It is estimated that it took over 2 million baskets loads holding 1 cubic foot of earth to build the mound. Archeological evidence indicates this was a major settlement in North America from around 200 BC to 1300 AD.

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The visitors center also has a very nice museum that houses artifacts and exhibits explaining the life and habits of the native american tribes that inhabited the Kolomoki Area. It also shows the methods used by archeologists to study these tribes, their way of life and the mounds. The building is built into Mound E and shows where some pottery and the bodies of three leaders were found. The skeletons you see are not them, of course, they are replicas. There is also a gift shop in the visitors center.

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Your first stop at the park should be the visitors center. Here you will pay your entrance fee of $2.75 to $4, and you can get some brochures and information to maximize your enjoyment of the park. They also have a very interesting museum and a short instructional film. The area where they show the film is a room built into the side of one of the mounds (Mound E). This gives you an interesting and unique perpective into how the archeologists explore the mounds and discover their secrets.