* shell mound is a 5 acre crescent shaped mound over 20 ft. high that was built mainly of oyster shells and midden debris over a space of 250 years from ~ 450-700 A.D.. it seems to have been built over older middens that have been dated back to 2,500 BC. UF archaeologists are in the process of studying this mound and the many other ring middens found along the marshes and out islands in the lower suwannee wildlife refuge, including the cedar keys.
until this study began, 2 years ago, it was commonly thought that there were no ring middens in the big bend gulf coast area. studies are now finding that this was a densely populated area in the pre-columbian era. unfortunately, many of the larger mounds, esp. in the town of cedar key, were mined for fill.
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