4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8l 



potsherds and stone artifacts. Several years ago Mr. Randall, owner 

 of the land upon which the sites occur, built a reservoir at the eastern 

 end of his property, and he stated that a small pueblo ruin of eight 

 or ten rooms was completely destroyed during the construction. A 

 few skeletons and one perfect piece of pottery were found, but he 

 did not know what had become of them. 



East of the Randall Ranch, at the bottom of the foothills, were 

 found a few sites covered with potsherds but showing no indications of 

 walls. Small greatly eroded house sites occur along the bottom of the 

 foothills for a distance of five miles to the south. 



One-half mile north and a little to the west of the Randall place is 

 a bench running from the foothills west to the town of Fernandez 

 de Taos. At a point three-fourths of a mile northwest of Randall is 

 a rather extensive site on the sides and top of the bench. There are 

 two ash heaps, outcropping of walls, and what might prove upon 

 excavation to be a burial mound. The whole area has been more or 

 less washed out and beaten down and it is impossible to plat the out- 

 lines of the ruins in their present form. Some very handsome black 

 and white sherds, many arrow heads, and one complete black cooking 

 pot have been taken from this site, and there still remain some very 

 good deeply grooved metates on the surface. Judging from the few 

 wall remains discernible most of the buildings were built on the small 

 tongues of land which jut out from the main bench. The whole site 

 embraces a scant two acres of ground, but is one which in the writer's 

 opinion would warrant excavating. 



One- fourth mile from this site, a little above a Penitente church- 

 yard, is the beginning of a series of natural mounds, on the top 

 of most of which are nearly obliterated house remains. The sites 

 are covered with quantities of potsherds, broken stone artifacts, and 

 other minor antiquities. No walls are indicated, and in the present 

 condition no outlines could be established. From this point north to 

 the Pueblo of Taos are many other similar sites, almost all of them 

 closer to the foothills. There were no wall indications at any of 

 them. 



About three miles west of Fernandez de Taos, the writer was told, 

 is a fair sized ruin, but unfortunately time was not available to visit 

 this site. 



According to Bandelier there are several ruin sites in and about 

 Ranchos de Taos, which is four miles below Fernandez de Taos. The 

 writer was unable to obtain any information with regard to these 

 ruins except the one at Llano, one and one-half miles east from the 



