HISTORY & HERITAGE
Shell Mound Archaeological Site
Levy County · Gulf Coast
A ring of oyster shell about twenty-three feet high around a central plaza, eight miles from Cedar Key off Highway 326.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Archaeologists know it as site 8LV42. It became an important gathering place around the year 400 and stayed so through about 650, and it was a civic and ceremonial center rather than simply a trash heap: people lived here and also came here. Work by University of Florida archaeologists found evidence of large summer feasts, and the layout appears to be oriented on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Part of what drew people was a cemetery nearby holding ancestors from across a wide region. A self-guided archaeological trail of under half a mile runs around the mound with an observation deck looking over it. There is a boat launch for kayaks and small craft, usable depending on the tide. Camping is not allowed on the refuge, but a Levy County campground sits next to it. The site was added to the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge in 1998 and takes thousands of visitors a year. It costs nothing to walk
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