516 PREHISTORIC VILLAGES IN TENNESSEE (ETH. ANN. 41 
the line of wall posts shown in the diagrams of circles Nos. 3, 23, 42, 79, 
and 84, but time and the elements have destroyed all remains of them. 
Only in rare instances where the wood had become charred were any 
traces of wooden objects found on the Gordon site. 
A diagram giving what is probably a correct vertical section of the 
original circle, and showing the relative depths of the various graves, 
altar, and other objects, is shown in Figure 130. 
A study of the photograph (pl. 103, 6) will show that black Joam 
to a depth of over 16 inches had accumulated on the floor of this 
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Fic. 129.—Diagram of circle No. 3 
ancient building since it was deserted by its last occupants. The 
yardstick in the illustration is not resting upon the floor. 
As this building was similar in construction to a large percentage 
of the houses in this town, the various steps in its erection will be 
traced. Excavations showed that strong poles for house-wall sup- 
ports had been firmly set around a circle 38 feet in diameter. The 
surface soil within this circle had been removed down to the firm clay 
subsoil over the circular space, 30 feet in diameter, shown by the 
dotted line 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, and 14 of the diagram in Figure 129. The 
soil from this interior circular space was thrown against the wall of 
poles, forming a raised earthen ring, which held the poles more firmly, 
