The Prehistoric Jlonuments of the Little Miami Valley. 121 



der broken b}' fire, Avere ver}'- encouragiug indications of a 'find.' 

 Further digging showed that the rock struck was a , part of a stone 

 arch, rudel}' made of undressed limestone. * * * 



" That part of the arch first found was removed, and under it was 

 found a skeleton, the tibia (shin bone) being the first part of it dis- 

 covered. The arch was then entirel}^ uncovered, the earth removed be- 

 tween it and the skeleton, and the skeleton taken out. * * If the 

 mound had been divided into four parts, by drawing a line through its 

 centre from north to south, and another similarly from east to west, the 

 arch would have been entirely within the northwest section of the 

 mound, and the skeleton which it covered, lay with its head neai'ly 

 towards the northeast (N. E. E.) Perpendicular sections of the mound, 

 as dug away that day, showed from the bottom upwards. 



" 1. The skeleton resting on or near the original surface, which was a 

 sand}' clay, quite compact and hard. 



" 2. About a foot of sandy earth, possibly hiixed with ashes, but no 

 charcoal nor pieces of bowlder nor bone; and especially in places where 

 the rock above had relieved it from pressure, quite loose and soft. 



" 3. The arch, hitherto so called for convenience, but perhaps hardl}- 

 entitled to the name. This was made, as, has been said, of undressed 

 but flat limestone, averaging about 20 to 30, and 6 to 8 inches in length 

 and breadth; 4 inches in thickness, and approximately most of them 

 being about a medium between these extremes; the arch was about 7 

 feet long, and 5|- or 6 wide; its highest part being in a line with, and 

 directly over, the body, and arching downward on either side till its 

 edges on the right and left of the skeleton nearl}^ reached the clay on 

 which the skeleton lay. But the stones were not set up on edge, so 

 that the structure, while really an arch in form, was probably' not self- 

 sustaining. * * * It contained three layers of stone, one over the 

 other, making about a foot in thickness. 



" 4. A thin la^^er of sandy earth, about one inch on the highest part, 

 and increasing in thickness toward the sides. 



"5. Charcoal and ashes, the charcoal not plenty, nor in large pieces, 

 this indicating that the fire had burned out before being covered up 

 with earth. This fire was hot enough to color all the top rocks, as 

 mentioned of the first one found. 



" 6. A layer of sand, about 15 inches thick, with pieces of fire-cracked 

 bowlder, burnt limestone, and pieces of human bones, much decayed 

 — or were they partially burned ? 



"7. Another layer of charcoal and ashes similar to the one below, 

 about fths of an inch thick. 



" 8. Claj^ey sand to the top, so soft as to be shoveled without loosen- 

 ing with a pick, and nowhere over 2^ feet thick, * * No ornaments 

 or implements of any kind were found in this mound." 



