Winterville Mounds was an important Native American political and religious center during the Mississippian period (ca. AD 1200-1600). First recorded in the mid-nineteenth century, the site has a long history of professional archaeological work. The first excavations took place in 1907, when Clarence B. Moore placed test units in fifteen of the mounds as well as in off-mound areas of the site. Many of these early excavations uncovered architectural remains and artifacts associated with domestic habitations. Modern excavations of the site began in the 1960s and continue into the present day.
Winterville originally had more than 20 mounds. Mound A, the central feature of the site, is a large rectangular platform mound about 55 feet in height. Mound A is flanked by large open plazas to the northeast and southwest and has a ramp extending toward the northeast. A ring of boundary mounds surrounds the entire plaza area. Professional archaeologists have determined that the mounds were built during the Mississippian period, between about AD 1200 and 1450, but the site was originally occupied during the Coles Creek period, beginning around AD 1000.
Many of the mounds at Winterville had architecture on their summits. Recent archaeological excavations in Mound B have revealed a series of burned structures stacked one on top of the next. This repeated ritual burning and rebuilding of mound summit structures is also documented elsewhere in the Mississippian world. The nature of the architecture suggests that this mound may have had a religious function. Mound C also has a series of structures associated with its summit. The architecture and associated artifacts indicate that these buildings were residential, likely the homes of important Native American political or religious leaders. Summit architecture has also been documented on Mound K and likely was associated with other mounds.
Winterville Mounds is now maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and visitors are welcome to walk among the mounds. Winterville Mounds has been designated a National Historical Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
