Not Named
Historic Property
Alternate Name:
Lawton Mounds (38AL11)
Street Address:
11 miles W. of Allendale; 3 miles N of US 301; .75 miles S. of Johnson's Landing
Site Number:
S108042001300201
Date Surveyed:
1973
Category:
Site
Construction Date:
before 1400
Current Use:
Vacant/Not In Use
Signficant Architectural Features:
The Lawton Mounds Site consists of 2 low earthen flat-topped mounds and surrounding village area, enclosed by a ditch and parapet. The North Mound is essentially rectangular, 65' x 70' at the base, standing 5' above the terrace. The South Mound is 100' distant from the first, also rectangular, 70' x 85' at the base, and 7.5' high. A ditch surrounding the mounds and village area is 15-20' wide and about 3' deep. Within this enclosure (330' x 400') there are large trees and dense undergrowth. OUTBUILDINGS:
Alterations:
Logging seems not to have affected the area within the ditch although there are traces of past logging all about the site. Some digging has occurred on both mounds and in the village area, but it has not seriously damaged the site. Both the mounds and enclosing ditch are uncommonly well preserved. In fact, their shapes must be quite close to the original appearance of these structures, except perhaps slightly altered by erosion.
Historical Information:
The small pottery collection obtained, as well as the platform mounds themselves, indicates construction and occupation during the Savannah II period, approx. AD 1200-1300. Scientific excavation of this site should produce evidence of temple structures on the mounds, house remains within the village area, a cemetery area, and perhaps indications of a defensive palisade paralleling the ditch. There is no other known Savannah period village site in S. C., except those with abundant earlier or later remains in addition to Savannah. Certainly there is no other mound site in the state so well preserved. Archeologically, the Savannah II period is of particular interest because of the evidence for the spread of strong ceremonialism into the S. C.-Ga. area at this time. Flat-topped earthen mounds, substructures for religious buildings, first appear, and exotic artifacts of apparent religious significance characterize excavated sites of this period.
Source of Historical Information:
National Register nomination, prepared in 1971
Survey:
Allendale County, 1979-1980
Archives Location:
Box 13, Series 108042, Survey of historic resources (county by county data on surface properties), circa 1971-2014
