ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 



the Mesa Verde National Park, Colo., under the joint aus- 

 pices of this bureau and the Department of the Interior, left 

 Washington for that locality in August, 1915, and remained 

 in the park continuously until the close of October. Dr. 

 Fewkes devoted his attention mainly to a large mound of 

 stones and earth situated near the point of a promontory 

 opposite Cliff Palace, across Cliff Canyon, the excavation of 

 which revealed a type of structure hitherto unknown in the 

 Mesa Verde National Park, and architecturally different 

 from any that had been previously excavated in the South- 

 west. The rooms of this building, which Dr. Fewkes des- 

 ignates as "Sun Temple," were thoroughly cleared out, the 

 debris removed, and the walls were repaired in such manner 

 that they will not be likely to deteriorate for many years. 

 A report on the work of excavation and on the structural 

 features of this interesting building forms the subject of an 

 illustrated pamphlet published by the Department of the 

 Interior in June, 1916, under the title "Excavation and 

 repair of Sun Temple, Mesa Verde National Park." 



Structurally the Sun Temple consists of two parts — an 

 original building, to which an annex is so united as to give 

 the two a D-shape gi'ound plan, the southern or straight wall 

 of which extends almost exactly east-west. This wall 

 measures 131 feet 7 inches in length; the highest wall of the 

 structure is 11 feet 7 inches, the lowest 5 feet. The walls are 

 massive, varying in thickness from 2 to 5 feet, and are com- 

 posed of a core of rubble faced on both sides, the exposed 

 stones having been carefully fashioned by hand and accu- 

 rately fitted, although, as in the case of pueblo masonry 

 generally, the stones are usually neither "broken" at the 

 joints nor bonded at the corners. Nevertheless the walls of 

 the Sun Temple display excellent structural qualities that 

 will compare favorably with any of its class north of Mexico. 

 Architecturally the annex resembles certain tower-like struc* 

 tures in the ancient pueblo region, and in plan the whole ruin 

 bears resemblance also to Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, 

 N. Mex. 



The building contains three circular rooms resembling kivas 

 or ceremonial chambers, still used by some of the Pueblo 



