Whaleback Shell Midden

Whaleback Shell Midden is a shell midden consisting primarily of oyster shells located on the east side of the Damariscotta River in Maine, United States. It is preserved as a Maine state historic site and was included as part of the Damariscotta Oyster Shell Heaps listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. Other shell middens are located on the estuary in both Damariscotta and Newcastle. The middens in this area were formed over about 1,000 years between 200 BC to AD 1000. Maine's indigenous people consider shell middens to be more than refuse heaps, and have asserted that middens are also landmarks and place markers that represent the continued occupation of sites over thousands of years.