Troyville Earthworks, Archaeological site in Jonesville, Louisiana.
Troyville Earthworks is an archaeological site in Jonesville, Louisiana, where a group of platform mounds once surrounded by an embankment still stand today. The mounds are spread across different streets in town, near the point where three river systems come together.
The site was built between 400 and 700 CE by Native American peoples of the Lower Mississippi Valley and served as a major regional center during that era. By the time European explorers arrived, the community that had built and used the mounds had long since moved on.
The site takes its name from the town's former name, Troyville, which Jonesville was once called. Informational markers placed around town help visitors connect what they see in the streets today with the broader story of the communities that once gathered here.
The mounds are located along Willow Street and Second Street in Jonesville and are best explored on foot. Informational markers at several points around town help orient visitors and explain how the different parts of the site relate to each other.
The builders used layers of woven cane matting, palmetto fibers, and wooden planks stacked together to give the mounds their strength. This layering method acted almost like reinforcement, which helps explain why portions of the structures have lasted so long.
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