Sellars Farm Site

Sellars Farm Site. Building Methods. Dominating the western side of the plaza, a flat topped mound was the location of an important structure, either the ruler's dwelling or a religious structure. The mound is 15 feet high, 138 by 120 feet at the base and 95 by 75 feet at the top. When a trench was excavated by Frederic W. Putnam of the Harvard Museum in 1877, he discovered that it was built in three phases with ash covering the two lower ones. , Captions , (top left): Cross section of the principal mound showing the three levels in the central area excavated by Putnam. , (bottom left): Mound building was a communal project requiring community organization, an understanding of geometry and a knowledge of building techniques. Some mounds were built as a one time event. Other mounds were built up as successive events as new structures on existing mounds were replaced by newer ones. On some mounds excavated by archaeologist, it is often possible to see color variations that indicate the placement of a single basket of dirt. Many mounds show stratification of layers of differing colors of dirt or sand. This may indicate just the addition of a new layer to the mound or the colors may indicate some ritualistic intent on the part of the builders. , (center): The palisade surrounding the village was a complex structure including (1) a three to four foot high outer earthen wall, (2) a three to four foot deep ditch, (3) a four to five foot high inner wall topped by (4) a wooden poles, probably of red cedar. There were three entries on the southern and southwestern sides. An earthen causeway crosses the ditch at these points. , (top right): Bastion with Guard Tower: The village here at Sellars, like many Mississippian village sites, were surrounded by a palisade wall. These log structures were for defensive purposes. Projecting earthen bastions located about every 110 feet along the palisade wall served as guard towers. , (lower right): Gardens composed primarily of corn, beans, and squash were raised outside of the palisade perimeter.