| All rights reserved. |
Emerald Mound - Mississippi
ExploreSouthernHistory.com
Emerald Mound - A Mississippi Landmark
Just off the Natchez Trace Parkway near milepost 10.3 is Emerald
Mound, one of the largest Native American earthworks in the United
States. Constructed more than 600 years ago, the mound covers
nearly eight acres. Travelers have marveled at the amazing scale
and height of the mound for hundreds of years.
Now a preserved archaeological site, Emerald Mound is open to the
public during daylight hours. Interpretive signs provide information
on the history and construction of the massive earthwork.
Archaeologists for the National Park Service, which maintains and
preserves the site, believe the mound was constructed and used
between 1250 and 1600 A.D. by ancestors of Mississippi's Natchez
people. It is believed that Emerald Mound hosted large religious and
civic ceremonies Secondary platform mounds were erected atop the
massive 8-acre platform of the mound. The remains of two of these
can still be seen.
The site was first investigated in 1838 and has been the scene of
periodic research since then. Plowing and erosion destroyed six of
the secondary mounds atop the large mound, along with the ditch or
entrenchment that once encircled the entire complex.
Emerald Mound was donated to the National Park Service during the
1950s and restored to its present appearance in 1952. A trail and
stairways lead from the parking lot adjacent to the mound to the
surface of the massive platform and top of the larger of the
secondary mounds.
Located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway, the mound is open
during daylight hours. More information can be obtained at the
nearby Mount Locust visitor center on the parkway. To reach
Emerald Mound from Natchez, drive north for ten miles on the
Natchez Trace Parkway and watch for the signs.
Mound, one of the largest Native American earthworks in the United
States. Constructed more than 600 years ago, the mound covers
nearly eight acres. Travelers have marveled at the amazing scale
and height of the mound for hundreds of years.
Now a preserved archaeological site, Emerald Mound is open to the
public during daylight hours. Interpretive signs provide information
on the history and construction of the massive earthwork.
Archaeologists for the National Park Service, which maintains and
preserves the site, believe the mound was constructed and used
between 1250 and 1600 A.D. by ancestors of Mississippi's Natchez
people. It is believed that Emerald Mound hosted large religious and
civic ceremonies Secondary platform mounds were erected atop the
massive 8-acre platform of the mound. The remains of two of these
can still be seen.
The site was first investigated in 1838 and has been the scene of
periodic research since then. Plowing and erosion destroyed six of
the secondary mounds atop the large mound, along with the ditch or
entrenchment that once encircled the entire complex.
Emerald Mound was donated to the National Park Service during the
1950s and restored to its present appearance in 1952. A trail and
stairways lead from the parking lot adjacent to the mound to the
surface of the massive platform and top of the larger of the
secondary mounds.
Located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway, the mound is open
during daylight hours. More information can be obtained at the
nearby Mount Locust visitor center on the parkway. To reach
Emerald Mound from Natchez, drive north for ten miles on the
Natchez Trace Parkway and watch for the signs.
| Emerald Mound One of the nation's largest prehistoric earthworks, Emerald Mound is located just off the Natchez Trace. |
 | |  | |  | |  |
| View from the Top The top of Emerald Mound is a vast flat space punctuated by several additional mounds. |
| Secondary Mound This secondary platform mound was constructed atop the main Emerald Mound. |