Magnum Mound, Mississippi

About five miles north of Port Gibson, Mississippi, on the Natchez Trace Parkway, is the site of Magnum Mound, believed to have been built by the Plaquemine Indian culture around 1000 years ago. The Plaquemine's were a forerunner of the Natchez tribe which were encountered in this area by the first French explorers.

Mounds such as this one were used as platforms upon which buildings were erected of interwoven rods and laths, plastered with mud. This construction technique is called wattle and daub. The mounds were also used for burials and reburial of human remains. Like their Natchez descendents, those of the Plaquemine Culture sacrificed infants in their death-ritual ceremonies.

A parking area is at the site and there is a hiking trail around and over the mound with interpretative exhibits.