NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 



21 



The ground at site i is alioiit 6 to 8 feet above sea-level at the highest 

 point. Beginning toward the water, Bird and his party ran a trench 

 (trench i, fig. 3) through the main section of the deposit. This re- 

 vealed first about 12 to 18 inches of light wind-blown sand. Below 



Fig. 2. — Map of east end of Utila Island. 



this was a layer of black earth, mixed with sherds and other cultural 

 debris, of varying depth (see fig. 3), and below this was white, un- 

 mixed, beach sand. The layers were not always clear-cut or of equal 

 thickness throughout, as the diagram indicates. I may add that dig- 

 ging here was extremely difficult, owing to innumerable palm roots 



^'^^^^^^ 



w 



Bollomof Trench 



Black earth - Sherds - Shells 



\^\^^mf//^mm:^^fW m \ vmW Jf ^ | ^\^ ?S?IWf^ 



white beach Sand 



Depth of Trench 4'. Depth of Trench S^'. Depth of Trench Layer of black 



Topsoi I 12"- light brown Topsoil 9"- light brown 3'. Topioil 10"- debris begins 



Sand. Black layer 24". Sand BlacK layer la"- lighf brown Sand, about 12" down. 



While Sand below. Shells and Sherds. Black layer 14"- White beach 



5 White Sand below. Shells and Sherds. Sa.nd at botlom. 



FEET White Sand below. 



Depth of Trench 2'. 

 No clearly defined 

 layers. Brown sandy 

 soil mixed with Shells 

 and few Sherds. 



Fig. 3. — Cross-section diagram of trench i, Black Rock Basin, site i, Utila. 



heavily interlaced in the top levels. The trench indicates that the 

 shore at this point had been occupied for a considerable period, 

 during which a layer from i to 2| feet thick, full of broken pot- 

 tery, fish and animal bones, and broken shells, had accumulated. 



