242 XH\Y YORK STATE MUSEUM 



hauling timber across the wall and ditch. In that case the northern 

 gate the only one would have been well protected by the inner 

 wall, forming an alley between the two walls from the outer gate 

 to the village and giving a greater chance to stop enemies who had 

 succeeded in forcing their way through the gate. If this is not 

 true it would be difficult to account for the inner wall at all, unless 

 as a relic of a still earlier occupation which seems hardly likely. It 

 may be possible, however, that the inner wall was started and never 

 finished. A reasonable explanation for the southern gate, supposing 

 it to be ancient, is that it was made for convenience at a time when 

 war did not seem imminent, to save the trouble of going around 

 through the alley when entering or leaving the fort. 



Turning now to the evidences of habitation within the work \ve 

 find them visible even from the surfaces amid the tangled second 

 growth stumps, briers and underbrush. The most noticeable of all 

 were numerous saucer-shaped depressions in the surface of the 

 giound, much scattered but mainly on the side of the site nearest 

 the ravine: these continued out to within 30 feet of the apex, and 

 averaged 4 or 5 feet in diameter. Another evidence was the presence 

 of very black earth, beginning some distance inside the wall and 

 covering the entire surface of the point nearly out to the apex but 

 apparently thickest on the ravine side. In this black earth on the 

 paths and other bare spots could be seen occasional fire-broken 

 stones and scattered potsherds, which are also washed out now and 

 then along the edge. No other surface indications were visible 

 except of course the earthwork itself. 



I decided that a few transverse trenches and thorough " post 

 holing " would give a good general idea of the character of the site, 

 and began work on this basis. Three trenches were dug, but the 

 excavation was made unpleasant and difficult by the interlacing mass 

 of tough roots, the thick vegetation, and especially by the almost 

 constant rain. The trenches were run 8 feet wide and always 

 included all earth that showed any trace of disturbance. Occasional 

 " pits " or cup-shaped holes filled with disturbed and stained earth 

 were encountered, some with a corresponding depression above them. 

 some without. They were generally homogeneous in structure 

 although some showed irregular ash or charcoal layers. On the 

 whole the pits found here contained less in the way of artifacts 

 and refuse than any other series I ever examined. As a rule 

 they were merely black stains nothing more. We dug into 



