Thursday, December 1, 2022

Drove out of Alabama through Mississippi into West Carroll Parish, Louisiana to visit the Poverty Point State Historic Site/Poverty Point National Monument near Epps, Louisiana.

The Poverty Point World Heritage Site is a remarkable 3400-year-old archaeological site in Northeast Louisiana. In addition to its monumental earthworks, the site is known for a dizzying array of artifacts made of materials that were not locally available. Indeed, tons of stone were transported over great distances by way of the Mississippi River system to this amazing locale to make into tools and ornaments. 

  • The earthworks are massive: six mounds and six C-shaped ridges surround a huge plaza. One of the mounds was built about 2,000 years after the rest. 
  • The geometric design is unique in the world and is a masterpiece of engineering.
  • The site is 3,400 years old.
  • At the time the earthworks were constructed, they were the largest in North America.
  • The site was the major political, trading and ceremonial center of its day in North America.
  • The people who built and lived at the site did not raise crops but instead lived by hunting, fishing and gathering wild food, making their accomplishments even more astounding.

Poverty Point State Historic Site Is A World Heritage Site.

On June 22, 2014, at the 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar, Poverty Point State Historic Site was inscribed as the 1,001st property on the World Heritage List.

Once we left Poverty Point, we stopped at Danken Trail B-B-Q in Monroe, Louisiana for an outstanding dinner before finding our hotel.