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Town Creek major temple
About this photograph
- Creator
- David Walbert
- Date created
- November 6, 2007
- Location
- North Carolina
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
See this photograph in context
- Two worlds: Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony: First part of a North Carolina history text for secondary students, covering the land, American Indians before contact with Europeans, Spanish exploration, the Roanoke colony, and the Columbian Exchange. (Page 2.4)
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Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for American Indians, history, North Carolina, and Town Creek Indian Mound.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
The earthen mound after which Town Creek Indian Mound is named is the town’s principal structure. The mound, made from soil carried in baskets on people’s backs, was built on the site of an earlier ceremonial earth lodge that had collapsed. More soil was piled on the collapsed structure and a new lodge was built on top of it. In time, this structure was destroyed by fire and was also buried under more earth. Finally, a third temple was built on top of the mound. The recreated major temple that now stands at Town Creek approximates this third and final temple. It was rectangular with mud walls and a grass-thatched roof. The temple was the most important building in the town, and was home to the sacred fire that was always kept burning.
