UA Museum Resumes Excavation of Rare Native American Council House

UA Museum Resumes Excavation of Rare Native American Council House, Determined as Southeast's Largest
Ozzello Appointed Director of Million Dollar Band

UA Museum Resumes Excavation of Rare Native American Council House, Determined as Southeast's Largest

UA archaeological team excavates the Southeast's largest Native American Council House.

Renewed excavation efforts at the site of a Native American council house, first discovered by a University of Alabama archaeological team in 2001, have revealed it is the largest such structure ever found in the Southeast, says the UA anthropology professor leading the excavation. (See Dialog, July 23, 2001, for the complete story of the find.)

"In floor area, the Moundville earthlodge is just slightly larger than the famous example at Macon, Georgia, making ours the largest known to date in the Southeast," said Dr. Vernon James Knight, curator of Southeastern Archaeology for UA's Alabama Museum of Natural History.

The structure's outside dimensions are 50 feet by 50 feet, and its interior is 38 feet by 38 feet. Recent radiocarbon dating efforts indicate the structure was built in the early 1400s. The large, square structure was an earth-covered wooden building, with narrow entrance tunnels bordered by timber walls.

The earthlodge, a place where chiefs of the Moundville Indians met with their council to make important decisions, was first uncovered in June 2001 by a Knight-led team excavating at UA's Moundville Archaeological Park. Initially, only a small portion of the structure was unearthed.

A recent visit to the site by some of Knight's colleagues, affiliated with The University of Mississippi, and their use of a remote sensing instrument revealed more information about the unexcavated portions of the earthlodge, Knight said.

In addition to helping determine the structure's overall size, the device, known as a gradiometer, revealed a previously undetected entrance trench on the west side of the building, opposite the entrance trench on the east side that was previously discovered, Knight said.

The device provides the archaeologists with an image of the structure, even though portions of it remain underground. It creates the image by measuring small differences in the earth's magnetism.

The team, led by Knight, first discovered the structure during the University of Alabama Museum's annual scientific dig, where professional and academic instructors guide lay people in archaeological techniques. On the surface of a large mound, they unearthed the burned, collapsed remains of the rare structure. Ceramic smoking pipes, decorated pottery fragments, a stone ax head and bits of native copper have been recovered.

A few earthlodges have been found in the southern Appalachians and in Georgia, but until the 2001 find, archaeologists did not believe they existed as far west as Alabama's prehistoric Moundville. At its peak, in about 1250, Moundville was the largest city north of Mexico, home to about 3,000 people. From A.D. 1000 to 1500, Mississippian Indians constructed large earthworks in Moundville, topped by temples, council houses, and the homes of their nobility.

Earth Lodge Cutaway

Earth Lodge Plan View

Ozzello Appointed Director of Million Dollar Band

Dr. Kenneth B. Ozzello

University of Alabama music professor Dr. Kenneth B. Ozzello has been appointed director of the Million Dollar Band. Ozzello will succeed Kathryn Scott, who will step down from that position Jan. 8, 2003, after 19 years as director and 8 years as assistant director.

"With dedicated and enthusiastic direction, our Million Dollar Band has an unrivaled tradition of musical excellence and enjoys a stellar national reputation for showmanship. We are delighted that our incoming director is an individual who has been part of that tradition for 13 years. Dr. Ozzello will take over the baton after having been director of bands at UA and serving as drill designer for Million Dollar Band half-time shows," said Dr. Robert F. Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Ozzello joined UA in 1989 as assistant director of bands and associate professor of instrumental conducting and music education in the School of Music. In 1997 he was appointed director of bands, responsible for the management of all University Concert Bands' financial affairs, staff, and activities. Crimson Tide football fans have seen Ozzello's work as Million Dollar Band drill designer on the field on many Saturdays.

Comprised of 330 students, the Million Dollar Band is the largest student organization at UA. Under Scott's leadership, the band became widely known for its colorful half-time presentations and has appeared on national television more often than any other college band. In 1992, Southern Living magazine selected it as one of the top 10 most outstanding bands in the South. Sports Illustrated magazine has listed the band as one of the top three college bands in the nation. The band is currently in the finals for the prestigious Sudler Trophy, the only national collegiate award given by the Sousa Foundation to a university band that has a proven record of "excellence" for its marching band program.

By tradition, the name Million Dollar Band was bestowed upon UA's marching band in 1922 by W. C. "Champ" Pickens, an Alabama alumnus and football manager. To raise funds to travel to the Georgia Tech game, the band solicited contributions from area merchants. They were so successful that Pickens dubbed the group the Million Dollar Band.

"Replacing Kathryn Scott will certainly not be an easy task, but Ken's experience as director of bands eminently qualifies him for this position. The Million Dollar Band has always been such a cornerstone of our University, and we in the department of intercollegiate athletics are grateful for all of Kathryn's contributions to enhancing not only the band but the University," said Mal Moore, UA director of athletics.