HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT FEWKES 471 



HOVENWEEP HOUSE 



This building (pi. 1, fig. 1) was a pueblo that stood on the can- 

 yon rim at the head of Square Tower Canyon. Most of its 

 walls have now fallen into the canyon and are strewn around on 

 the mesa, forming an unsightly mound; but there still remain sec- 

 tions of standing walls of fine masonry rising out of the mound, 

 which are visible as conspicuous structures as one approaches the 

 cluster of prehistoric dwellings that compose a part of Hovenweep 

 House. Under the cliff below it are remains of a very large cliff 

 dwelling, the walls of which are dilapidated, although still pre- 

 serving certain architectural features. These walls could be pro- 

 tected at very small expense and would present a fine type of cliff- 

 dwellers' masonry. Near by, below Square Tower, stands another 

 tower, one of the best examples of this type of building in the 

 Southwest. It rises from the top of a pinnacle, on a well-preserved 

 foundation on all four sides. This building has given the name 

 of Square Tower Canyon to the southern fork of Ruin Canyon. 

 Although tall, its summit is not high enough to afford a view very 

 far down the canyon. The north and south forks of Ruin Canyon 

 are separated from each other by a tongue of land ending in a preci- 

 pice, on which are remnants of a tower having a magnificent out- 

 look. This structure presents some of the best masonry in the South- 

 west. At the base of the precipice, as if guarding its entrance to 

 Square Tower Canyon from the approach of hostile people, are ruins 

 5 and 6, which are worthy of exploration by the archeologist. Ruin 5 

 stands on a large angular bowlder, with what appears to be an 

 opening or doorway on the north side. An instructive architectural 

 feature of tower 5 consists of two parallel walls, apparently char- 

 acteristic of this small ruin, one on each side of this doorway. 



There are situated on the north rim of Ruin Canyon three inter- 

 esting structures. One of these is known as Unit Type House (pi. 

 1, fig. 2) from the fact that it consists of a single circular kiva of 

 well-made masonry around which are arranged six rooms. The 

 southern wall of this ruin is more or less broken down, and the east- 

 ern portion also shows signs of destruction, but on the northeast 

 corner there is a remnant of a room so dilapidated that it can not 

 well be made out. Ruin 11 is composed of a cluster of small build- 

 ings, and ruin 13, called Stronghold House (pi. 2, fig. 2), is one 

 of the most picturesque ruins of the monument. The best ruins in 

 Ruin Canyon, however, are on the south rim, numbered 8 and 9 

 on the accompanying map. Number 7, known as Eroded Bowlder 

 House (pi. 3, fig. 1), is mainly remarkable for its site. Perched 

 on top of an eroded bowlder, there stands a tower, while the rooms 



