ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IX MISSOURI 119 



were scattered unburnt fragments of skull, long bones, and innomi- 

 nate bones, all bearing the marks of rodent teeth. There were no 

 artifacts whatever. 



Nolan C. — In certain respects this mound (fig. 12, 8) proved one 

 of the most interesting of the entire Pearl Branch group. It was 

 about a hundred yards in an easterly direction from B and, like the 

 latter, had never been plowed. Loose stones on the surface had 

 clearly been piled in recent years, so that it is difficult to estimate the 

 former dimensions of the mound. The area covered when we first 

 saw it was about 25 feet across, and at its center the stones reached a 

 height of nearly three feet above the periphery. Except for two small 

 recently dug spots near the summit, it bore a tangle of brush including 

 young elm, hackberry, and boxelder, with a very tenacious under- 

 growth of sumac and poison-ivy. The latter, growing thickly among 

 the rocks, had to be grubbed out by hand, to the no small discomfort 

 of most of our workers. 



Our interest in the mound had been whetted by the earlier excava- 

 tions of Mr. Hansen, who presented us with fragments of two pots 

 found, apparently, near the surface. On clearing out the dug por- 

 tions, we found that most of the upper 12 inches of fill in a rectangular 

 enclosure had been turned over. Hansen's explorations had pene- 

 trated to a depth at the center of about 4 feet, i. e., nearly a foot 

 below the vault floor. In the southeast and northwest corners, the 

 deeper portions of the fill had not been disturbed. 



The walls of the chamber, except on the south, were found to be 

 straight and well laid (fig. 15). The rear (north) side was 6 feet 

 2 inches long, the west 6 feet 9 inches, and the east 7 feet 3 inches. 

 The south side, which opened into a walled passage, was bowed out- 

 ward, and measured 7 feet 2 inches in length. Four or five courses 

 of stone had been used, and the wall averaged between 26 and 30 

 inches in height. The passageway, 6 feet long, had a uniform width 

 of 25 inches. 



Within the enclosure large boulders and burnt clay were scattered 

 through Hansen's diggings, but he was unable to state clearly just 

 how these had occurred originally. Our own observations, based on 

 work in the northwest corner, which had been partly protected by a 

 tree stump, revealed an undisturbed layer of burnt stones 21 inches 

 below the surface. Beneath these was a mass of charred sticks and 

 twigs, which, at a depth of 26 inches, was traced eastward from the 

 stump and probably marked the original floor or burial surface. A 

 charred slab, 6 inches wide by 15 inches or more in length, suggested 

 a split log or rough board. In and just under the charcoal layer were 

 bits of calcined human bones, which so far as quantity is concerned 



