EARTHWORKS AND MOUNDS IN MIAMI COUNTY, OHJC 876 



that it required a pike to break through it. After the removal ol the 

 ashes, 19 iuches of clay burnt red were met with. The excavation was 

 about 6 feet square. There is a large stump of a tree standing a little 

 to the north of the center of the mound. On the west side of the fort 

 are three gateways 8 feet wide, which are covered on the outside by a 

 stone wall 10 to 12 feet long, and 6 feet thick. There are also three small 

 ravines running down to the valley below in front of these gateways, 

 which no doubt were excavated by human hands. On the west wall 

 are standing at present some very large trees. 



No. 2 is a small circular fort situated 200 yards southeast of No. 1. 

 The height of the wall is at present about 18 iuches, but formerly, no 

 doubt, it was much higher. This inclosure has a ditch on the inside, 

 and gateways facing fort No. 1, and is about 150 feet in circumference. 



No. 3 is a similar structure, and is located about 200 yards east of 

 No. 2. This embankment has t vo gateways, one on the east and the 

 other on the west, 8 feet wide. The wall is about 4 feet high and 

 slopes towards the gateways. This also has a ditch on the inside. 

 This work has never been disturbed. It is about 200 feet in circum- 

 ference and is fenced and covered with sod. 



No. 4 is located 1 mile south of No. 1 and situated on the second bot- 

 tom. It is 300 feet in circumference, with an entrance on the south- 

 east side, 10 feet wide. Its embankment is at present about 2 feet high 

 and 8 feet wide, which the plow lowers every season, and its wall will 

 soon be erased from the surface. This also has a ditch inside. 



No. 5 is a mound situated 300 yards to the northeast of No. 4. This 

 mound was 240 feet in circumference, and was formerly about 9 feet 

 high, but at present is almost obliterated. An exploration was made 

 by running a ditch from south to north to the center of the mound, 

 and it was found to contain an altar composed of burnt clay. This 

 was covered with ashes, charcoal, and burnt bones, 3 inches thick. On 

 this was a layer of clay, then alternate layers of clay and charcoal 

 5 feet thick, each charcoal stratum being about 1 inch in thickness, 

 the whole covered with clay and gravel mixed, 2 feet thick. West of 

 the altar were found human remains, viz, a skeleton lying with the 

 head towards the southeast imbedded in clay; the skull bore the ap- 

 pearance of having been crushed with a blunt instrument. Fragments 

 of the skull were within the cavity near the surface. Broken pottery 

 similar to that found in Kentucky occurred. 



Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are altogether obliterated and were located 

 within the present limits of the city of Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, all 

 within an eighth of a mile of the river. These works were described by 

 Maj. S. H. Long. 



No. 11 is situated 1 mile southwest of the center of Piqua, on the 

 upland. It is an ellipse 60 feet wide and 100 feet long, with ditch on 

 inside and one gateway on the north. This work has been almost ob- 



