ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT. XXV 



was biu-ied to the depth of 20 feet by wiud-driveu saud, and more 

 recently the waves have encroached on the land, exposing 

 a section of the bluff and its buried village site. The most 

 important feature of this exposure was the section of an ossuary 

 or bm-ial pit 12 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep, which had 

 been dug at the village site and filled with a mass of dis- 

 connected human bones, all of which were in an advanced 

 state of decay. These remains were not accompanied by ob- 

 jects of art. 



In Api-il Mr. Holmes made a journey to Bartow county, 

 Georgia, and to Coahoma county, Mississippi, to make detailed 

 observations on the great groups of mounds in these coun- 

 ties. The principal mound in Bartow county belongs to the 

 gTOup known as the Etowah mounds, and is a splendid example 

 of the work of the builders. In shape the great stracture 

 is a four-sided truncated pyramid, not wholly synnnetric. 

 It is 63 feet high, and measures about 175 feet across the 

 nearly level top. The measurements of the four sides of the 

 base are 380, 330, 360, and 350 feet. The slopes are steep, 

 reaching in places 45 degrees, and are broken by two decided 

 eccentricities of configuration. On the south a ten-ace from 

 40 to 50 feet wide slopes to the level of the base of the mound 

 on the east, and ends in a nearly level platform about 45 feet 

 square at the western end. The platform is about 20 feet 

 lower than the mound, and does not apjjear to have had means 

 of communication with its summit. This ii'regular terrace has 

 been called a roadway, but it has more the character of an 

 unfinished addition to the original mound. The other eccen- 

 tricity is a graded way extending eastward from the summit 

 of the mound, and which to all appearances is the real road- 

 way to the summit. This way is 20 or more feet in width, 

 though somewhat broken down by erosion, and has a slope of 

 only 21 degrees. The great Etowah mound was doubtless 

 the stronghold of the village, and its top was probably inclosed 

 by a stockade. 



The Carson mounds in Coahoma county, Mississippi, form a 

 group of unusual interest. There are four mounds of large 

 size, two of them being oblong and having twin summits. The 



