NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG I33 



have recently been arranged as benches. From mound 6 the wall ex- 

 tends northeast in a double curve until it reaches two small mounds 

 (6 to 7 feet high), between which is apparently the entrance to the 

 enclosure. The wall curves sharply southeast here, and less than 

 halfway down its extent is another small rock mound. At its southern 

 extremity the wall turns diagonally west and in a considerably 

 tumbled fashion crosses the creek, forming a low dam. Here it 

 apparently terminates. The surface of the site generally is marked 

 by monochrome potsherds and some other artifacts, and the creek 

 bed especially is full of broken pottery. Mitchell-Hedges reported 

 considerable deposits of sherds in the creek walls, but although we 

 obtained a considerable collection in the bed itself, we found only a 

 few sherds actually in the banks. 



Coming through the entryway over a rise of ground, mound i is 

 first encountered. This is the largest of the mounds, being 85 feet 

 long, 55 feet wide, and 8 feet high, with a rounded top (fig. 35, 

 mound i). Toward the east end just west of the five erect stone 

 slabs is an L-shaped trench some 15 feet long, 2^^- feet wide, and 

 3^ feet deep at the deepest point, made by the Mitchell-Hedges party. 

 We cleaned off the walls of this trench, which showed the upper mound 

 to be composed of earth with some small rocks and a few monochrome 

 potsherds in the upper i foot. Mound 3 is just south of mound i and 

 is slightly smaller and only 3 feet high. It is marked by four big, 

 erect stone slabs, one of which is 6 feet high (pi. 33, fig. 2), 3 feet 

 broad, and less than i foot thick. It is not carved but nevertheless 

 definitely suggests a stelae. With mound 2, which is sh ^eet high and 

 marked by three erect slabs, mounds i and 3 form an irregular rec- 

 tangle closed in to the west by a large number of erect monolithic 

 stones (fig. 35, A). These are set up in a rough L shape; some are 

 erect, others are leaning over, and yet others have fallen flat (pi. 32, 

 fig. 2). They resemble grave stones, and one or two are phallic in 

 form. Only one stone at the site is carved (pi. 33, fig- 3) ; it has three 

 incisions suggesting a crude face. The mass effect of these monoliths 

 is much more impressive than the photographs indicate (pi. 32, fig. 2; 

 pi. 33, figs. 1-3). The largest erect stone is 6^ feet high, 2^ wide, and 

 less than i foot thick, and the largest fallen stone is 9 feet 10 inches 

 long, 2 feet wide, and only 5 or 6 inches thick. The purpose of this 

 monolithic complex is puzzling. We dug several test pits near the 

 more striking monuments but found only a few potsherds. Adequate 

 trenches here might well reveal urn burials. 



South of mound 2 is an interesting alignment of small slabs set up 

 on edge (fig. 35 B, pi. 33, fig. i) and forming a rectangular align- 



