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Owl Creek Site may have served
as a ceremonial temple or elite residence
Courtesy of the National Register collection
Artist's sketch of Owl Creek Site during construction
period by American Indians (1100 A.D. to 1200 A.D.)
Drawing of Owl Creek Mounds by Richard A. Marshall Courtesy
of Tombigbee National Forest, National Forests in Mississippi
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The five Mississippian period platform mounds at this site were
built between 1100 and 1200 A.D. The U.S. Forest Service owns
two of the mounds including the largest 17-foot-high Mound I.
Both are open to public visitation. Archeological excavations
conducted at the site in 1991-1992 by Mississippi State University
revealed the foundation remains of a ceremonial temple or elite
residence that once stood atop Mound I. Structural remains were
found on two other mounds as well. The scant presence of habitation
debris in the areas between and adjacent to the mounds suggests
that the site may have been occupied on a long-term basis by only
a few people, probably those of high social rank. It is also possible that the site was completely vacant
much of the time, visited by inhabitants of the surrounding region
only on ceremonial or other important social occasions.
Owl Creek Site is located in Tombigbee National Forest, two
and a half miles west of Natchez Trace Parkway on Davis Lake Rd.
From the Parkway, take the Davis Lake exit (milepost 243.1), about
18 miles southwest of Tupelo, Mississippi. Open to the public
daily, free of charge.
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