Portavant Mound

The Portavant Mound (also known as the Portavant Mound Site or Snead Island Temple Mound or Portavant Indian Mound) is an archaeological site on Snead Island within the Emerson Point Preserve, just west of Palmetto, Florida. On December 23, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Portavant Mound Site
LocationManatee County, Florida
Address restricted[1]
Nearest cityPalmetto
Coordinates27°31′52″N 82°37′33″W
NRHP reference No.94001475[2]
Added to NRHPDecember 23, 1994 (1994-12-23)

The Portavant Mound (or Snead Island Temple Mound) is one of fifteen or more "temple mounds" produced by the Safety Harbor culture (900–1725) found in the vicinity of Tampa Bay. The mound is four meters high, measures 45 m by 75 m at the base, and has a flat top that is 24 m by 46 m. Unlike other "temple mounds" around the Tampa Bay area, the Portavant Mound does not have a ramp to the top of the mound. There is a lower (one m high) platform, about 30 m by 30 m, that abuts the main mound. The Portavant Mound was made from soil mixed with debris from middens. Several other mounds, also consisting of soil mixed with midden debris, are near the "temple mound".[3]

The Portavant Mound site has been the target of a stabilization project to protect the mounds from damage from river erosion, looting, foot traffic, and exotic vegetation.[4]

See also

References
  1. Federal and state laws and practices restrict general public access to information regarding the specific location of this resource. In some cases, this is to protect archeological sites from vandalism, while in other cases it is restricted at the request of the owner. See: Knoerl, John; Miller, Diane; Shrimpton, Rebecca H. (1990), Guidelines for Restricting Information about Historic and Prehistoric Resources, National Register Bulletin, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, OCLC 20706997.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Luer, George M.; Marion M. Almy (September 1981). "Temple Mounds of the Tampa Bay Area". The Florida Anthropologist. 34 (3): 128, 134. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  4. "Archaeological Stabilization Guide: Case Studies in Stabilizing Archaeological Sites" (PDF). Florida Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.


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