new acquisition

Protecting a Mound Complex

The Page site in Kentucky is home to unusual mortuary mounds.

One of Kentucky’s most fascinating archaeological sites, the Page site, is situated along a bluff overlooking the Mud River in the Western Coal Fields region of Kentucky. The site is the most extensive mound complex in the state. The Archaeological Conservancy is purchasing a 22-acre tract at the site that includes the majority of the extant mounds.

Although the Page site was mentioned in Constantine S. Rafinesque’s 1824 Ancient History, or Annals of Kentucky, it was not until 1929 that the site was investigated or even mapped. At that time, at least 67 mounds were still visible, and there was evidence that other mounds had already been destroyed. The excavations by pioneering Kentucky archaeologists William Webb and William Funkhouser focused exclusively on the mounds, leaving the non-mound areas unexplored to this day. Their research determined that one mound, and perhaps more, at the Page site are Mississippian culture platform mounds.

The vast majority of the Page site mounds, however, enclose stone mortuary facilities. Although some of the mounds enclose relatively simple stone graves, many of the mounds cover elaborate stone cists. One cist created by a stone slab wall and excavated by Webb and Funkhouser was 15 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet high. Its interior was almost entirely filled with human bones, cremains, charcoal, and ashes. Stratified deposits within the cist indicated it had been used on three occasions for a mass cremation. Following the final cremation, the cist was enclosed in an earthen mound 60 feet long by 40 feet wide by 7 feet high.

Few artifacts were recovered during the 1929 excavations. Those that were found suggest that the site dates to the early Mississippian period, perhaps A.D.900 to 1100. At about the same time period, a few other sites in southwestern Kentucky show a similar emphasis on stone mortuary facilities within earthen mounds. Some archaeologists consider them to form a distinctive late prehistoric complex within the region, but one that little is known about.

In 1934, five local men acquired the site and developed it as a tourist attraction. Marketed as “Lost City,” it was one of the earliest attempts at promoting heritage tourism as a means of attracting automobile travelers. Lost City had a small museum and offered a driving or hiking tour of the “Royal Mound,” the “Gigantic Crematory,” the “Flint Shop,” and other prehistoric and natural features at the site. Unfortunately, gas rationing at the onset of World War II spelled the end to this fascinating experiment in 1941. The site was closed to the public and passed into relative obscurity.

The Conservancy is purchasing from Clifton Gibbs, the son of Lost City’s principal developer, the main mortuary area of the site. When reflecting on his father’s work at Lost City, Gibbs remarked that “protecting it forever was always his main idea.” The Archaeological Conservancy is happy to be able to provide that protection. —Paul Gardner

Mudd River

Dirt Road

This illustration shows the Page site from above. The large and small circles represent the site’s numerous mounds. It’s not known how many mounds exist today.

Conservancy Plan of Action

SITE: Page, also known as Lost City

CULTURE & TIME PERIOD: Early Mississippian period, A.D. 900–1100 STATUS: Threatened by residential development and agriculture. ACQUISITION: The Conservancy is purchasing 22 acres for $20,000.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Please send contributions to The Archaeological Conservancy, Attn:Project Page, 5301 Central Ave. NE,Suite 902, Albuquerque, NM 87108-1517.