Christmas Mound is a single conical mound that stands roughly 10 feet in height. Professional archaeologists placed a test excavation in the southern flank of the mound in 2013. They found that it was built by Native Americans in a single stage on top of an earlier midden deposit. The pre-mound surface has been radiocarbon dated to ca. AD 400, but the age of the mound itself is unknown. Pottery recovered from the excavation includes varieties that are typically associated with both the Late Woodland (ca. AD 400-1000) and Mississippian (ca. AD 1200-1600) periods. It is possible, therefore, that the mound was built sometime around this transition, perhaps around AD 1000. Although the field surrounding the mound has been surveyed for archaeological material, no artifacts have ever been found.
