450 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS—II [ETH. ANN. 44 
The corresponding measurements of the flat top were 58 feet; 130 
feet; 47 feet; and 135 feet. The angles varied from 77 degrees to 
109 degrees (fractions omitted). A plan is shown in Figure 7. 
The top is not level, having a slight slope in the direction of the 
creek. The summit is about 9 feet above the general level of the 
field around it. To the west, on somewhat higher ground, there was 
an aboriginal village. 
A trench 10 feet wide was cut entirely through the shortest diam- 
eter of the mound, near the center, and carried into the undisturbed 
earth below. The original top soil was completely removed for a 
distance of 65 feet, which figure practically corresponds with the 
breadth of the structure across the top; the slopes on the sides 
accounting for the remaining width at the base. It was not deemed 
Ss AMAL ill Mill EAT TEAN TA iin i Miss Ait if WW YA 
Qh Ce A iii ALAA Ul Wa 
SA ei Se IAN AUTAN AIA AN \Wy nA Hil i Mala il hinge yee 
= SUMAN UMA AN AAA WWII NAAN Wie Zo 
AIAN Wi NU, Wi ti 
10 20 30 40 so 60 7° 80 9° 100 FEET. 
Fic, 7.—The flat-topped mound at mouth of Town Creek, Ala. 
worth while to excavate the sides to a greater extent than would 
serve for the easy removal of the loosened material to the outside. 
For the entire depth the earth was mottled or mixed, showing 
that it had been obtained at various places in the vicinity. Occa- 
sionally there were distinct horizontal seams or divisions, as if the 
structure had been carried to a certain height and work then sus- 
pended for a time, but in no case did one of these level areas extend 
entirely across the mound. Invariably they merged at one end or 
at both ends into earth which seemed to have been deposited con- 
tinuously. If any such cessation of labor took place it did not con- 
tinue a sufficient time for vegetation to acquire a foothold—assuming 
that plants or grass might have been allowed to grow. At the bot- 
tom the original surface was very plainly marked by such decayed 
growth, the earth being quite dark for a depth of several inches. 
