Archaeological dig slated at Poverty Point

Archaeological dig slated at Poverty Point

Archaeologists from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Mississippi State University will be working together this month on a dig at Poverty Point State Historic Site near Epps.

The archaeological site at Poverty Point SHS is the largest, most complex earthwork of its age in North America. The major construction and occupation of the site dates between 3,700 and 3,100 years ago (1700-1100 BCE). The 402-acre park contains most of the site, including five mounds and six nested semi-elliptical earthen ridges which enclose a flat 37-acre plaza. Roughly 750,000 cubic meters of dirt were moved in constructing the earthworks, a feat accomplished by people relying on a hunting-gathering-fishing way of life.

The primary goal of the excavation is to study buried circles in the plaza that were discovered previously by archaeologists Dr. Michael Hargrave (US Army Corps of Engineers ERDC-CERL) and Berle Clay (Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc.) using an instrument called a magnetic gradiometer. Gradiometers measure, from the ground surface, slight variations in the magnetic field of the soil below that can be due to the presence of fire hearths, differences in soil composition, or the frequency of certain kinds of artifacts.

One hypothesis is that the circles, which range from 20 to 50 meters in diameter, may be architectural remains. Plazas are often viewed as empty community spaces, thus the possibility of architectural features in that area is quite exciting, park manager Dennis LaBatt said.

Members of the public are invited to visit the excavation at Poverty Point State Historic Site, which will run from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays in June.

LaBatt states optimal viewing of the actual excavation occurs after the first week as the first week is usually spent in preparation. The excavation crew will consist of students enrolled in field archaeology courses at ULM and MSU. Dr. Diana Greenlee, Poverty Point Station Archaeologist, will lead the ULM effort and Drs. Evan Peacock and Janet Rafferty will head the MSU team.

For more information, call 1-888-926-5492 toll free or 926-5492 locally or email at povertypoint@crt.state.la.us. Poverty Point State Historic Site is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.