a day in florence, alabama - part ii

And now for some of the archeological sites. Florence, Alabama has several Indian Mounds from the Copena Period, about 300 CE, of the Woodland cultural period in the Southeast from 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. The Copena period is so named because of copper and galena found in burials of this period.

I believe the following 3 pictures, from McFarland Park, are Indian Mounds. A rather unhelpful historical marker said there were Copena period mounds "nearby", and the mounds I photographed are definitely man-made - they are too geometric to be natural, and are less than 1/4 mile from the banks of the Tennessee River, which floods the area at least once a year, scouring flat the area near the banks.


This shot is from me standing about 4 feet from the crest of the mound, looking across the top of the mound. There's a slight rise on the opposite corner of the mound, while the rest is perfectly flat.


Standing on the top of the same mound, looking the length of the mound, with 2 rises on either side


Looking across to the first mound I climbed. My husband is sitting on the side of it, which gives a sense of scale of these mounds. These are all located at McFarland Park


This mound is the Great Florence Mound, the tallest domicillary mound in the Tennessee valley, at 43 feet high. Of course, it's closed on Sundays and Mondays, which includes the grounds as well as the museum. I had decided against trespassing, and took the best shots I could over the fence. I'll get better photos the next time Tom and I head over to Florence.