The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is hosting an Archaeology Ranger Program from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 23, according to the park’s Facebook page. This free event will start at the Visitor Center with a presentation followed by a guided tour of the park led by Ranger Jim Branan.
The tour will be outside and around half a mile long if “the weather permits,” said Angela Bates, supervisor park ranger and volunteer manager.
Branan will discuss the findings at the Earth Lodge, the Cornfield Mound, the Paleoindian site, the railroad bridge and the British Trading Post, as well as the history of these locations, Bates said.
The indoor presentation will include a screening of footage from the 1930s of the original park orientation film, according to the Facebook page for the event.
Bates said that this program takes place in November because it is Native American Heritage Month.
“Ocmulgee had the largest archaeology dig in American history,” Bates said. This dig took place from 1933 to 1942, with 800 workers finding around 3 million artifacts.
Bates said that she hopes the program will help attendees achieve “a bigger understanding of the archaeology dig done on the Macon plateau sites.”
Ocmulgee became a national park on March 12, 2019. The bill that designated this change also doubled the size of the Ocmulgee National Monument, according to Laura Corley at The Telegraph.
The ranger program is not the only free event that will take place at the park in the near future. On Dec. 7, the park will host “a Ranger-led tour to the Earth Lodge,” according to the park’s Facebook page. This will begin at 10 a.m. in the Visitor Center and will take half an hour.
According to the page, “the space inside the Earth Lodge is accessed through a short, 20-foot long tunnel and is not wheelchair accessible.”
This event has taken place on multiple Saturdays this year and will continue on into the new year on Jan. 4 and Feb 2.
Ocmulgee hosts Archaeology Ranger Program during Native American Heritage Month
