If you find yourself in Macon, Georgia, make sure to visit Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Site.  The site has seven mounds, a museum, walking trails, and an excavated and reconstructed mound with a living floor that dates to the year 1050.

The site was excavated in the 1930s and I found this really cool interactive site where you can “dig in” further and find out more if interested.  This photo is an example of some of the material you can find there.

Interpretation

Unlike some other mound sites, there is no lack of interpretation and information signage throughout the site.

From a general timeline

to funerary practices,

and agriculture.

There is more specific mississippian period information

about the mounds and the people that built them.

The Mounds

We arrived on the grounds late in the day so we were not able to explore the site in leisure.  In fact, some running was involved.

We did visit the Great Temple Mound, a 50′ high with a base of 300 by 270 feet

The lesser Temple Mound was still impressive although smaller

both had wooden structures on top of them where ceremonies were held.

The museum

We really had to rush through the museum because we wanted to make it into the Earth Lodge before closing,

but as rushed as we were, we still managed to admire the collection

and especially some of the special artifacts.

Especially this one.

The Earth Lodge

The earth lodge was excavated and reconstructed while preserving the 42′ diameter living floor

You can clearly see in the floor seating areas and other features.  There are also preserved ancient fire pits that helped archaeologists date the floor to 1050 A.D.

A note about height restrictions

As we followed the signs pointing towards the mounds we arrived at the dreaded height restriction sign.  Our van is 9′ 5″, but the limit seems to be 8′ 6″.

Bummer.

It may not be wise to question a height restriction that is clearly carved into the stone arch above our heads, but we did.

Clearly, 8′ 6″ is the limit, but it didn’t seem right and we suspected that we can get through the tunnel.  Arch is the operative word here.

I spotted Tony through the tunnel as he inched his way in and emerged unscathed on the other side.  You can see in the photo below that if our van was wider it wouldn’t fit through this arch.  The height restriction refers to the area where the arch starts to restrict.

We are not advocating for unnecessary risks, but do use good judgement and common sense when encountering an arched tunnel.

If your vehicle happens to be wider/taller you can park in the parking lot by the museum and make your way to the mounds on foot, just make sure not to come just before closing like we did.

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