<< Our Photo Pages >> Fort Mountain Stone Enclosure - Cairn in United States in The South
Submitted by bat400 on Sunday, 15 January 2023 Page Views: 7707
Pre-ColumbianSite Name: Fort Mountain Stone Enclosure Alternative Name: Fort Mountain Wall, Fort Mountain Stone EnclosureCountry: United States
NOTE: This site is 25.038 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: The South Type: Cairn
Nearest Village: Chattsworth, GA
Latitude: 34.761000N Longitude: 84.7W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Prehistoric drystone wall site in Georgia, USA. This ancient 285m (930 ft) stone wall is thought to have been built by Woodland-era Native Americans between 500 BCE and 500 CE. Note the serpent-like deep bend in the wall in the top photo. The layout does not appear to support the wall having been an actual defensive fortification, as its many zigzags would not support any concealment of defenders in multiple locations and do not take advantage of natural contours.
Several records and examinations of this site were made in the late 1800's (the first mention is from 1849,) but the most complete research of the site appears to be the early 1960's survey and limited excations performed by the Peabody Museum's Phillip Smith for the Georgia Department of State Parks and University of Georgia. (See Sources, below.) The "wall" lies in a saddle below the peak of Fort Mountain and varies dramatically in height (3 to 10 feet) and width (4 to 16 feet) with three major breaks or "gateways". Part of the wall is formed from natural rock outcrops with the majority made from native stone, dry worked.
Gaps with depressions at multiple locations were originally described as "pill boxes" or "sniper pits," but Smith references earlier written descriptions of the wall that do not mention these features, and he strongly suspects them of being the remains of "treasure hunters" who dismantled portions of the wall.
Two minimal excavations were done at the time of the survey, but no historic or prehistoric artifacts were noted.
The current understanding strongly supports a pre-contact construction by Indians, possibly for cerimonial purposes associated with the mountain peak itself. A number of legends have sprung up around this site, including the myth that it was built by a Welsh prince named Madoc or was associated with DeSoto.
The wall may be reached by a maintained hiking trail.
Additional contributions from Aluta.
Sources:
Phillip E. Smith, "Aboriginal Stone Contructions of the Souther Piedmont", University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology Series, Report No. 4, 1962. (archive link)
Fort Mountain State Park website (archive link) - scroll down to "The Story of the Wall at Fort Mountain."
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