FOWKE] MOUNDS IN PIKE COUNTY, OHIO 503 
At 11 feet out, in the mixed streak, began a layer of yellow sand 
like the subsoil, which within a foot was 5 inches thick. It extended 
with a thickness of 3 to 5 inches across the 10-foot face of the exca- 
vation to within 2 feet of the east wall, where it began to taper out, 
and disappeared just at the other corner. The streak on the bottom 
extended across into the east wall. How far it may have reached 
under either wall was not ascertained; it extended 13 feet in the line 
of the trench. There was no charcoal in it on the east side, though 
it was darker than the material above or below. 
Ten feet out, on the bottom, was a small pile of burned bones, with 
some charcoal; this merged with an ash bed to be described later. 
Five feet from center, on the west side of the trench, began a mass 
of dark soil, which rose to a height of 5 feet so abruptly that it must 
have been packed or “ puddled ” while wet. It was too compact to 
be removed with a shovel. A thin layer of charcoal was spread over 
the top. The sand streaks curved from every side to a rounded point 
2 feet above it. The black mass was about 7 feet across; it did not 
reach to the east wall of the trench. 
The charcoal and bones noticed at the 10-foot face were at the 
edge of a bed of ashes, which reached to the east wall, and ran 3 feet 
under the west wall. It was about 5 feet wide at the middle part, 
and had an elliptical outline, tolerably regular except on the west 
side, where it widened somewhat. Beneath it, at 7 feet from the 
center and 4 feet from the west face, was a hole a foot deep and 10 
inches across, the sides and bottom rough as though gouged out. It 
was filled with clean white ashes, mingled with a little charcoal, and 
packed so hard as to be difficult to remove with a trowel. A foot 
south and 3 feet east from this was another hole, elliptical in outline, 
about 8 by 10 inches and 16 inches deep. It was filled with very 
loose dark earth, in which were two or three bits of charcoal. 
Upon removal of the large, compact mass of black earth, which 
formed the core of the mound, there was disclosed a pit 10 feet from 
east to west and a little more than 6 feet from north to south, with 
a depth of 14 inches. The sides were nearly straight, with a slight 
inward slant; the corners were rounded. The sides and bottom were 
rough and uneven as if gouged out with rude tools. The entire bot- 
tom, which was somewhat depressed at the central portion, was 
covered with ashes, over which a thin layer of bark had been spread ; 
around the margin of the pit was a lining of wood or bark from 2 
to 4 inches thick; this was reduced to a dust as soft as loose flour. 
In this grave were two skeletons, extended, on the back, heads di- 
rectly west. One, 5 feet 4 inches long, of a woman, lay along the 
center. The teeth were very much worn, some of them down to the 
roots. The middle lower incisors, while showing no trace of decay, 
were cut nearly off close to the gum as if they had been sawed hori- 
