ArchcBological Explorations near 3iadisonville, Ohio. 43 



the former presence of man. Continuing a little deeper, however, 

 almost directly in the center, there was found a small circumscribed 

 deposit of ashes, mixed with fragments of charcoal and charred bones, 

 about three or four handfuls in all; with these were mingled frag- 

 ments of a human skull, in perfectl}^ sound condition, so far as the 

 action of fire was concerned, but xevy soft and friable through decay. 

 They regained their hardness to some extent after being dried b}^ ex- 

 posure to the air." 



The material excavated was all thrown back, and the mound restored 

 as nearly as practicable to its original condition (fig. 2). 



The al)scnce of burned earth, broken boulders and stone imple- 

 ments is very remarkable, as the surf^ice of the entire field is covered 

 with these articles, and many fine implements of flint and stone have 

 been picked up in the immediate vicinity of this mound. 



On March 5, 1879, the mound No. 3, Group A, was opened by Dr. 

 Metz. This mound was composed entirely of sand, and the soil in the 

 immediate vicinity is of this character. At a depth of about four feet, 

 in the center of the mound, -a thick layer of charred wood and ashes, 

 some broken boulders and fragments of pottery were found. On 

 March 3 4, work was resumed on No. 5, Group A, and a trench com- 

 menced on the eastern slope of the mound. Numerous animal 

 bones, several flint arrow points, and stone implements of the common 

 foim, but no human remains, were found. During the progress of work 

 on this mound, the laborer, employed by Dr. JMetz, had been prospect- 

 ing, by digging holes in the surrounding forest, until finally, on the 

 20th of March, in the southwest section of the plateau, he came upon 

 a human skeleton at a depth of about two feet ; these remains were, 

 however, so much decayed that they could be preserved only in frag- 

 ments. This was the initiatory step toward a most important archaeo- 

 logical discovery, as further investigation has revealed the interesting 

 fact that the entire plateau is the site of an ancient cemeteiy, from 

 which have since been exhumed upward of four hundred skeletons 

 of a pre-historic people, accompanied b^- numerous evidences of their 

 handiwork, in the shape of flint and stone implements, pipes, pottery 

 ware, charred matting and corn, tools and ornaments of bone, shell and 

 copper, some of which are believed to be unique, all indicating an 

 industrious people, who lived in large communities, and obtained 

 their support by cultivating the soil, as well as by fishing and hunt- 

 ing. 



A brief, prelirainaiy sketch of the discovery was contributed to Pro- 

 fessor Short's recent work, entitled TheJ^orth Americans of Antiquity, 



