568 PREHISTORIC VILLAGES IN TENNESSEE [ETH. ANN. 41 
section, coupled with the following facts, will establish the details 
of erection of Building A. 
The top portion of the discarded fire pit, 24, contained a pile of 
four large pieces of charcoal, about 6 inches in diameter and from 6 
to 10 inches in length. These were covered with a layer of mingled 
earth and ashes, as though they had been smothered with earth. 
Then the floor was smoothed and packed down, but not made level. 
After that a black glossy floor coating was applied, covering the old 
sacred fire pit, and also a considerable space in addition thereto. 
This floor can be seen in Figure 156. 
The floor belonged to Building A, the town house, or, more properly, 
House of the Mysteries. The postholes belonging to Building A are 
shown in Figure 159, which is a diagram of mound No. 2 at its second 
level, when it was supporting this House of the Mysteries. There 
probably were also one or two other buildings on the mound at this 
stage. 
Judging from its large size, as seen from a stone-age viewpoint, it 
is probable that Building A was used both for sacred rites and for 
public gatherings of many kinds. The House of the Mysteries most 
clearly conveys its meaning. 
As far as the trenches uncovered this House of the Mysteries, it 
stood slightly to the westward of the central north and south line of 
the mound, though it may prove to have covered more space when 
all of it is unearthed. There are indications that it may have been 
divided into two rooms. 
The building appears to have had upright posts set about 18 inches 
apart. The postholes were similar to those shown in Plate 126, a. 
The walls were made of cane stems woven in and out between the 
upright posts. The wattling was plastered with earth and the wall 
was hung with a layer of woven cane matting. 
The doorway of the main room of the House of the Mysteries 
faced the east and looked out over the town square. On the interior, 
at the doorway, is an interesting curved arrangement of three posts. 
A similar arrangement of posts was found at the doorway of the 
Sacred Image House, on the first level. The use of these inner posts 
at the door is unknown. 
THE ALTAR 
Within the House of the Mysteries was an ancient altar at 35, 
Figure 159. Figure 160 shows a vertical section through this altar, 
and Plate 126, c, shows a photograph of it. The altar bowl was oval, 
32 by 29 inches outside measure, and 28 by 25 inches, and 4 inches 
deep, inside measure. It was composed of hard-burned puddled red 
clay, and was filled with clean, white powdery ashes, which contained 
no charcoal or fragments of pottery or bones. The sacred fire had 
