DRIVING TOUR STOP 4

Borrow Area

Stop 4 on the driving tour of Poverty Point National Monument is at what is known as a borrow area. This is a common construction term for an area where dirt is dug for use as landfill at another location. At Poverty Point, all of the mounds and ridges were built by digging dirt from one area and piling it high in another area. The Indians did not have draft animals, carts, or modern tools, so they had to dig the dirt by hand and transport it by foot to the desired location in baskets, one basketful at a time.

If you look to your right when at Stop 4, you will see a dip in the terrain. Up to six feet of soil was dug from here and moved to other areas of Poverty Point to build the mounds and ridges.

Stops 5-6: Mound B | Stop 3: Mound A | Driving Tour Main Page

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