Built along the ancient paths that became known as the Natchez Trace (a roadway), Emerald Mound is the second largest temple mound in the US, the largest being Monks Mound in Cahokia, Illinois.

This eight-acre mound, constructed from a natural hill, was built and used from about 1300 to 1600 by the Mississippians, ancestors of the Natchez Indians.

Unlike dome-shaped mounds constructed only for burials, Emerald Mound supported temples, ceremonial structures, and burials of a complex society’s civic and religious leaders.

Archaeological tests in 1949 indicate that this platform mound was constructed in several stages. Beginning with the natural hilltop, Natchez Indians gradually transformed the hill into a flat-topped pyramid. First leveling off the hill, they later added thousands of tonnes of earth from near the base.

Using primitive tools of wood, stone and bone, the Natchez Indians loaded the dirt into baskets or skins which they carried on their backs or heads.

This is a 30-foot secondary mound on which once stood a temple containing sacred Indian images. On important occasions the mound was the scene of elaborate civic processions, ceremonial dances and solemn religious rituals where worshipers sought favour of their gods.

The speck on top of the mound is me, the blogger! Although I am standing on the 30-foot secondary mound, pictured above, this view gives a much better idea of the scale of the mound!