Site 1 - Alec Mtn, Habersham Co.
At least two dozen large stone circles were identified in North Georgia by archaeologists from the Smithsonian in the late 1800s. This is one of them. It was first reported by Charles Lanman in 1848, and partially excavated in 1956 by Philip Smith from the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. Often referred to as a fort, it is more likely some sort of ceremonial henge.
The form of the structure is that of a broad oval. The longer diameter is over 100 feet, while the shorter axis is about 90 feet. At the time of Smith's survey, the wall averaged 8 feet in width and 3 to 4 feet in height. Centuries of fallen leaves, as well as decades of locals taking stones for chimneys and other uses, have reduced the height and made the oval structure somewhat indiscernible. It is even more difficult to produce meaningful photographs, but I have attempted a few examples.
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Sketch from Smith's 1956 excavation.
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The leaves make it hard to see, but looking closely, one can trace the structure entering the frame at
lower left, continuing toward the upper right, and curving back towards the left in the background.
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Another section of the structure, again, rather difficult to discern.
On the left is the opening in the wall shown in Smith's sketch.
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Detail of part of the wall.
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Another section, from a lower perspective.
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Site 2 - Fort Mountain, Union Co.
This site is a stone enclosure on top of a mountain peak in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It is roughly
square-shaped, about 50 feet on each side. Within several of the corners are smaller stone enclosures.
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These first photos, from the SW corner, show the largest enclosure, an oval measuring over 20 feet on its longest side.
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The overall structure and its various features are difficult to make out after centuries of leaves and
resultant mulch covering them, as well as likely human disturbance of the walls over those years.
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This was likely built for some sort of ceremonial use, but its actual function is long lost to (pre-) history.
It was undoubtably constructed well before the Creek and Cherokee occupation of these lands.
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A smaller, somewhat circular enclosure in the SE corner.
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Rough sketch of stone enclosure, by Jannie Loubser.
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After our visit, I made some slight revisions to Jannie's sketch.
The NW corner of the enclosure is more "right-angled" than rounded.
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