10/28/2026
I was unaware of this site.
📌 Windsor Mound — Randolph County, Indiana
📍 40°09′24.07″N 85°12′23.95″W
At least 35 human skulls were found arranged among the stones surrounding a single central burial, evidence that this mound wasn’t built in one moment, but used as a ceremonial monument over generations.
Hidden within a small wooded area surrounded by farmland in east-central Indiana stands Windsor Mound, one of the largest surviving prehistoric burial mounds in the region. Measuring approximately 15 feet high and more than 100 feet across its base, Windsor Mound (12-R-1) is associated with the Adena and Hopewell traditions of the Woodland period, dating back more than 2,000 years. Although the mound has been disturbed by excavations over the years, a substantial portion of the original structure remains visible today.
In 1990, archaeologists Karin Anderson and Michael Lindeen published a detailed study of Windsor Mound through Ball State University’s Archaeological Resources Management Service. Their report documented an unusually complex burial structure. Near the original ground surface, excavators discovered two distinct layers of ash containing fragments of cremated human bone. Above these layers was a mound constructed of stone, with an open central area containing an extended burial accompanied by artifacts characteristic of the Adena tradition, including plain stone tablets. A charcoal sample collected immediately beneath the central burial produced a radiocarbon date of approximately 70 BC, plus or minus 70 years, placing this phase of the mound’s history around the late first millennium BC.
But one of the most remarkable discoveries came when the stone structure was dismantled. At least 35 human skulls were found placed among the rocks surrounding the central burial. The arrangement suggests that Windsor Mound was more than a simple burial place. It was a carefully constructed ceremonial monument where mortuary practices took place over time. Archaeologists also documented a later burial inserted near the mound’s summit, indicating the monument may have continued to hold significance for subsequent Woodland-period communities.
Unfortunately, Windsor Mound did not escape later disturbance. Excavators documented an old trench extending from near the summit toward the bottom of the mound. Inside were horse bones, decayed wooden boards, and a square nail, evidence of activity long after its original construction. More recent digging left additional excavation pits and a deep trench along the mound’s northern slope. By the time of the 1990 archaeological report, researchers estimated that approximately one-third of the mound remained unexcavated. Despite this damage, the surviving earthwork continues to stand prominently above the surrounding terrain.
The accompanying LiDAR image provides an especially interesting view of Windsor Mound. Near the center of the upper image, the mound rises sharply above the surrounding ground, its rounded form clearly distinguishable from the natural terrain. The nearby stream channels and floodplain are also revealed in remarkable detail, providing a better understanding of the landscape in which the mound was constructed. In the satellite image below, however, the mound is largely concealed by the surrounding trees. Without knowing its location, it would be easy to overlook one of east-central Indiana’s most significant prehistoric monuments.
More than 2,000 years after its construction, Windsor Mound remains a remarkable example of the ceremonial and burial traditions of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the region long before European settlement.
Sources: Karin Anderson and Michael Lindeen, Windsor Mound, Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University (1990); Donald Cochran’s archaeological field observations, as cited in the report.
