The Place
All along the Natchez Trace there are ceremonial mounds by
the Mound Builders from the Mississippian Period. None compare to the vast Emerald Mound near
Natchez, Mississippi. In fact, it is the
second largest of these ceremonial mounds in the country. If you want figures, it is 770 feet long by
435 feet wide.
You leave the Trace and drive a mile down an increasingly
rural county road to get to the Emerald Mound, and there it is sitting in the
middle of a field. It is a vast 8 acre 35
foot tall earthen structure in a precise rectangular shape. On top of it, at either end are 2 30-foot
tall mounds.
It is absolutely stunning.
It was built by hand by people who carried the soil for the structure in
baskets after having dug it up with a stick.
The scope of the project is mind-boggling, the results amazing. By the way, even though the Mound is covered
by dark green grass, it gets its name from being located at one time on the
Emerald Plantation.
Resources: Emerald Mound by NPS
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