230 



MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



loam, decayed vegetable matter and clay, but there can be scarcely a 

 doubt that the central core is hard clay which has preserved its form. 

 An opening was made in the larger wing near the top. After pass- 

 ing through a top layer of sandy loam 6 inches thick, a layer of burnt 

 clay of the same thickness was reached. Immediately below this was a 

 layer of buint matting 3 inches thick, scattered through which were 

 grains of parclied corn. In an opening previously made on the oppo- 



Fro. 137.— Plan of Menard monnilH, Arkansas county, Arltansas. 



site side of the same wing a thick layer of burnt day was encountered 

 and a number of brokeu pots were found. 



The small flat-topped mounds ddd, none of which are more than 2 

 feet high, are probably house sites. They consisted of a top layer of 

 soil, next a layer of buriit clay, and below tliis ashes, in which were 

 skeletons and pottery. It was in these house sites that Dr. Palmer 



