FOWKE] MOUNDS IN ALABAMA 449 
Across the hips, mashing the soft bones to the thickness of blotting 
paper, was a spade 171% by 6 inches; this was unfortunately nicked 
in two places by the pick before its character was ascertained. 
There were also a few disk shell beads. 
The surface on which the mound was built was slightly undulat- 
ing; the greatest depth at any point was 4 feet, though it was prob- 
ably higher when constructed. 
Burials were in four tiers; the graves, about a foot to 2 feet deep; 
on the surface of the earth; about 2 feet above the bottom; and 
near the surface. The last were probably deeper originally, the 
surface of the mound being now lowered by erosion. The infant 
at the center was the only burial at that level. 
In all, 20 skeletons were discovered; there may have been more 
burials, as scattered bones here and there might have belonged 
with those counted, or may have been all that remained of still 
others. 
Tue Fiar-roprpep Mounp 
On the left (west) bank of Town Creek, nearly 2 miles above its 
mouth, stands a mound of the type variously designated as “ sacred,” 
“temple,” “royal,” “domiciliary,” “residence,” “residential,” “as- 
sembly,” “priestly,” “religious,” “community,” “refuge,” and per- 
haps other names, according to the idea of the writer as to what 
the builders may have had in their minds that induced them to 
erect it. Such structures may have served for any or all of the 
purposes which have been supposed to explain the cause of their 
existence. 
It seems scarcely reasonable to believe that people who had to 
carry earth in skins and baskets would feel inclined to erect a spe- 
cial mound on which to perform each particular ceremony that 
seemed to them to be necessary for the expression of their senti- 
ments or duty. Having one satisfactory gathering place, they 
would make use of it whenever the occasion required, for whatever 
purpose they might have needed it. 
The structure was approximately rectangular in form, the longer 
axis northeast and southwest; there was nothing in the topography 
or the surroundings which required this deviation from cardinal 
lines. Owing to a dense growth of brush and weeds on the surface 
and slopes, and to former cultivation of the lower portions, the 
dimensions could not be accurately estimated. A survey, as exact 
as the nature of the case would permit, gave the following dimen- 
sions at the base: Southwest end, 103 feet; southeast side, 167 feet ; 
northeast end, 84 feet; northwest side, 188 feet. 
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