78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, 66 
for measurement and study, the bones in most cases consisting of 
only a pasty mass. 
As mentioned above, most of the burials were unmarked. The 
exceptions consisted of two graves encased and covered with slabs 
of stone, both unearthed near the very base of the mound. One of 
these stone graves contained a skeleton the hones of which were 
largely of the consistency of corn-meal, owing to the ravages of 
insects; but what was lacking in the remains themselves was more 
than compensated by the finding, near the skull, of a beautiful effigy 
Fre. 93.—Sectional view of fire-pit 10 feet in length, showing indurated ash. 
vase of painted pottery, the only piece of painted ware, whole or frag- 
mentary, found in the entire mound. The occurrence of this type of 
vessel and the presence of the stone graves at the bottom of the 
mound suggest the possible occupancy of the site by Indians before 
the settlement of the Cherokee in the Nacoochee Valley. 
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the mound was the large 
number of smoking pipes of pottery, mostly broken, but in many 
forms and of varying degrees of workmanship. Some of the pipes 
are of excellent texture and are highly ornamented with conven- 
tionalized figures of birds, etc., or marked with incised designs. An- 
other feature of the mound was the great amount of broken pottery 
found, especially in the refuse at the base and covering the slopes. 
