Riv. Bas. Sur. : se 
Pap. No. 32] LOVEWELL RESERVOIR—NEUMAN 295 
RUSSELL MOUND SITE (14J W207) 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND EXCAVATIONS 
The site lies on the crest of a high escarpment situated immediately 
south of White Rock Creek in Jewell County, Kans. The legal desig- 
nation is SW144ANW) see. 10, T.2S., R. 7 W. This is at an elevation 
of approximately 1,700 feet above mean sea level. Although the 
mound is above the maximum pool level, it will be almost totally 
isolated by the flood waters of the Lovewell Reservoir (pl. 49, a). 
The surrounding vegetation is predominantly native grasses with 
occasional clumps of burr oak and sumac. Outcrops of Niobrara 
Chalk are common on the top and along the steep slopes of the 
escarpment. Evidence of quarrying by early White settlers is visible 
a short distance north of the mound. 
Excavation procedure consisted of digging a north-south trench 
through the center of the mound. The trench, Excavation Unit 1, 
was 5 feet wide and 80 feet long, and was divided into 5-foot squares. 
Each square was given a directional and numerical designation con- 
sistent with its placement in a north-south, east-west grid. The 
squares were excavated by 6-inch levels, and artifacts were cataloged 
according to their vertical and horizontal provenience. The mound 
measured approximately 75 feet north-south and 90 feet east-west. 
It had a maximum elevation of 2.5 feet above the surface of the sur- 
rounding area. Owing to the limited time available and evidence of 
disturbance by “relic hunters,” excavations were not as extensive as 
they might have been. Only 60 feet of the trench was excavated. 
This amounted to removal of fill from the northern extremity to about 
10 feet beyond, or south of, the center of the mound (pl. 49, 0). 
Stratigraphic evidence indicated that the mound was a natural 
rise composed of yellowish, compact soil containing limestone concre- 
tions. This rise was covered with a layer of artificially placed lime- 
stone slabs. The slab layer was generally about 1 foot thick and 
composed of rocks of varying size. The rocks seemed to be placed 
haphazardly, although they decreased in number and size toward the 
periphery and over the center of the mound. A thin layer of sod 
covered the entire structure (see fig. 42). 
Upon completion of the trench, the west profile displayed an out- 
line of a large basin-shaped pit dug into the natural rise. At the top 
it measured 16 feet north-south and had a maximum depth of 5 feet. 
The pit sloped upward toward the east and became quite irregular in 
outline, the southeast section being deep and funnel-shaped. The fill 
within the pit was composed of loosely packed, dark-gray soil, and 
limestone slabs were sparsely distributed throughout this soil zone. 
On the north side of the funnel outline, and about 1 foot below the 
mound surface, there was a concentration of almost solid ash, charcoal, 
