Freels Farm Mounds
 Location within Tennessee today
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| Location |
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Anderson County, Tennessee,  USA
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| Region | Anderson County, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 35°58′24″N 84°13′06″W / 35.97333°N 84.21833°W |
| History | |
| Cultures | Late Woodland Culture |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1934 |
| Archaeologists | William S. Webb, T.M.N. Lewis, A.P. Taylor |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | burial mound |
| Responsible body: Tennessee Valley Authority, Civil Works Administration, Federal Relief Administration | |
The Freel Farm Mound Site (40AN22) (formerly 7AN22) is an archaeological site and burial mound of the Woodland cultural period located on the Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The site was excavated in 1934 as part of the Norris Basin Survey by the Tennessee Valley Authority using labor from the Civil Works Administration under the supervision of T.M.N. Lewis. Important finds of the excavation include 17 burials and a few artifacts. The artifacts and records from the fieldwork are held by the McClung Museum in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Freel Farm Mound is located on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The site is currently inundated by Melton Hill Lake. At the time of excavation the mound was located on the William Freel farm 2 miles southeast of Scarboro, Tennessee. The site was located 1200 feet from the western side of the Clinch River in a wide valley with ridges to the east and west in a prominently wooded knoll. During the excavation the mound resided on land that had been owned by the Freel family for over 135 years. The field surrounding the mound had been traditionally farmed; however the mound itself had never been disturbed. Webb described the mound as covered with undergrowth and having eight large trees growing from it. The largest tree was a white oak that measured 23 inches in diameter. The roots from the trees had extensively penetrated the mound. A part of the mound on the western side had been removed to create a dirt road.
The mound was circular shaped with a diameter of 40 feet and a height of eight feet above the original ground surface at its midpoint. It was created from hard-packed yellow clay with small specs of charcoal inside. The mound had one indication of a grave excavation below the original forest ground level near the center of the mound. In this grave was “Burial No. 17”, the body had been covered by large stones.
The stone pile was stacked to form a circular shape that measured 16 feet and 4 inches in diameter and rose above the original ground surface approximately 1 foot. “Burial No. 17” and the stone circle made up the original increment of the construction site. The earth on top of the stones was added as additional bodies were interred into the mound.
The mound is associated with the Late Woodland period and was likely created between 500-1000 CE. The basis of this assessment is related to the burial practices of the individuals within the mound. The differences in the mortuary treatment of individuals at Freel Farm mound indicate a non-egalitarian society had formed.
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