NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 1 25 



but sherds. The rock walls do not rise abruptly above the spring — 

 rather they consist of a tumbled pile or talus slope of limestone and 

 marble boulders. We climbed over these for a considerable distance 

 but did not see the flat rock or " pulpit " described by Mr. Mitchell- 

 Hedges. 



We removed a sample collection of sherds and the one complete 

 vessel. The latter (pi. 31, ^) has short solid legs, and the edges appear 

 to have been ground down. There are two borings for lacing across 

 a crack. The vessel is a dull yellow color, and there is no slip, at 

 least at present. Aside from the top flare and punctate marks on the 

 feet, there is no decoration. The sherds are all of high-grade pottery 

 but are rough-surfaced, probably as the result of long soaking. The 

 majority are of elaborate monochrome type, but one sherd suggests 

 Polychrome I and another Polychrome II in form. The former is 

 a solid lug of brown pottery suggesting a bird's head with three 

 crests. The latter is a rim with a broad, vertical strap handle (similar 

 to fig. 11, a, d) but without the characteristic manatee head lug. In 

 neither case are affiliations with Polychrome I and II ware positive, 

 since no traces of paint remain. However, the forms fit in with these 

 types better than any others. 



About 24 sherds, mostly rims, are from elaborately incised vessels, 

 many of which seem to have had the Uloa marble bowl type of 

 decoration. Applique work is rather rare. Double scroll and dot 

 incised decoration is common. There are two ornate lugs from this 

 monochrome ware ; one is of the vertical, centrally constricted type, 

 the other of the projecting type with elaborate incision and applique 

 work, giving it a grotesque appearance. Of the three basal fragments, 

 one is an annular base with an incised step design and a row of holes 

 around the bottom ; another is from a small tripod vessel with short 

 decorated feet (like pi. 31, /) ; and the third, from a large vessel of 

 composite silhouette, has one hemispherical foot containing a clay 

 ball. There are three separate feet ; one is hollow and hemispherical 

 with two holes and applique and incised decoration where it joins the 

 body, one is a hollow cylinder flaring toward the top, and the third, 

 a hollow cylinder with rounded tip, has an applique face where it 

 joins the body, two perforations on one side and one on the other. 

 As a whole, this collection suggests ceremonial rather than utilitarian 

 ware, but it is a selected, not a random, sample. 



MARBLE HILL FORT 



Marble Hill is a steep little pinnacle, about 150 feet in height, of 

 tumbled marble rocks. The great white clififs and boulders and the 



