Roland Site facts for kids
 Location in Arkansas
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| Location | Gillett, Arkansas, Arkansas County, Arkansas,  USA |
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| Region | Arkansas County, Arkansas |
| Coordinates | 34°6′40.18″N 91°10′9.62″W / 34.1111611°N 91.1693389°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 CE |
| Cultures | Marksville culture, Baytown culture, Plum Bayou culture, Mississippian culture |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1965, |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | platform mounds, plaza |
| Responsible body: private | |
The Roland Site (also known as 3 AR 30) is an archaeological site in Arkansas County, Arkansas. An archaeological site is a place where people lived long ago. This site is located near an old river channel called Dry Lake.
People lived at the Roland Site off and on for a very long time. This was from around the year 1 CE until just before written history. The most people lived here during the Late Woodland period. This was when the Plum Bayou culture lived there, between 650 and 1050 CE.
What is the Roland Site?
The Roland Site is mainly a large mound. This mound is made of a buildup of "midden." Midden is like an ancient trash pile. It contains things people threw away, like broken pottery and food scraps. These items help archaeologists learn about the people who lived there.
The mound sits on a raised area of land. It is close to another important site called the Jacks Bay Site.
Who Lived at the Site?
Archaeologists have found many pieces of broken pottery, called sherds, at the site. These sherds help them figure out which different groups of people, or "cultures," lived there over time.
- Around 1 CE: The first people to live here were from the Marksville culture. They only stayed for a short time.
- Later: The Baytown culture moved in. This was the first time many people lived at the site for a longer period.
- Longest Stay: The biggest and longest group of people to live at the Roland Site were from the Plum Bayou culture (also linked to the Coles Creek culture).
- Last Group: The last people to live here before modern times were from the Mississippian culture. They only stayed for a little while.
How Was the Site Discovered?
Archaeologists learned about the Roland Site in 1965. The US Army Corps of Engineers planned to use the dirt from the site for a building project. This meant the site could have been destroyed.
Because of this, archaeologists quickly started digging. They carefully studied the site in 1965 and 1966. In 1975, the Roland Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical place that needs to be protected.
