Protection and the Palisade
Moundville Archaeological Park
To protect the town and its rulers, Moundville Indians built a fortified wall or palisade around AD 1200. The palisade surrounded Moundville on three sides. The northern end terminated at the Black Warrior River, the other at a deeply entrenched creek running along the site's eastern side. Sentries could easily protect the site's remaining sides from the bluff you see here and the steep ravines along the creek.
Mississippian Indians constructed the palisade using the same building methods they used for house walls, but on a larger scale. First builders dug a deep trench. Then they wedged large timbers upright alongside one another in the trench. Finally,
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The palisade was roughly 1.3 miles long and perhaps 10 to 12 feet tall. Square guard towers or bastions jutting out about every 100 feet kept anyone nearing the palisade wall under an archer's watchful eye. Maze-like walls at the palisade's gates slowed entering visitors to be checked by guards. Some evidence suggests that the Moundville Indians might have dug another trench or dry moat along outside portions of the wall.
Undergoing several rebuilding episodes, the palisade was finally abandoned around AD 1300. As many as 30,000 mature trees might have been used to build and maintain this vast wall over its 100 year life span. As a segment of wall deteriorated, workers dug a new trench paralleling the old wall, erected a new section and then tied it into the existing wall. The palisade was such a substantial structure that its remains were still visible when a scientist visited Moundville in 1869, over 400 years after the site was abandoned.
Erected by the University of Alabama.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology •
Location. 33° 0.555′ N, 87° 38.205′ W. Marker is in Moundville, Alabama, in Hale County. It can be reached from River Bank Road 0.9 miles west of Mound Parkway. Located behind the Conference Center at the Black Warrior River. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: River Bank Road, Moundville AL 35474, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The CCC and Moundville (approx. Ό mile away); Mound Arrangement (approx. Ό mile away); A Perspective of Power (approx. Ό mile away); Politics and Power (approx. 0.3 miles
Credits. This page was last revised on February 9, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 21, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 793 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 21, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
