USE OF GROUND PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) IN NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL SITE PRESERVATION: A CASE STUDY FROM NIKWASI MOUND, FRANKLIN, NORTH CAROLINA

Nikwasi Mound, in present-day Franklin, North Carolina, was constructed by the Mississippian mound-building culture around 1000 AD and for centuries stood at the center of the Cherokee town of Nikwasi. This study presents the results of the first-ever ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of Nikwasi Mound. The objectives were to delineate the extent of the mound in the subsurface, determine the internal structure of the mound, and locate structures and cultural artifacts in the mound in a non-invasive and culturally sensitive manner.

Analysis of the GPR data shows that, at present, the lower portion of Nikwasi Mound is partially buried by at least five feet of floodplain sediments and artificial fill. In places the buried flanks of the mound extend laterally up to 30 feet from the base, a fact that should be seriously considered by the Town of Franklin as future development encroaches on the site.

Within the mound, several distinct surfaces indicate that the mound may have been built in multiple phases. In addition, a 40 foot by 50 foot elliptical feature was revealed beneath one end of the mound, which may be a smaller mound or possibly a buried walled structure such as a charnel house.

Finally, the GPR data yielded 318 parabolic reflections beneath the surface of the mound that are likely to be Native American artifacts or structures. The densest clusters of subsurface objects are situated beneath the top of the mound and may be associated with the council house or other similar structures. Thus the GPR data confirm rather convincingly that hundreds of objects exist in the mound, and further underscore the fact that preservation of the site is critical to the cultural heritage of the Cherokee people.