MORRIS] RUINS ON THE MESAS 183 
country for a considerable distance in every direction, are the remains 
of a rectangular building roughly 195 feet from east to west by 90 
feet from north to south (pl. 56, 6). A mound, in no part more 
than 4 feet high, marks the site. The dense surrounding growth of 
pifon and cedar has encroached somewhat upon the ruin, and a few 
large trees have gained a foothold in its midst. The areas not cov- 
ered by trees are heavily overgrown with sagebrush. No masonry 
appeared at the surface, although in several quarters rows of stone 
slabs protruded a few inches from the soil, outlining square or 
rectangular inclosures. 
Where a burrowing animal had brought up considerable quantities 
of charcoal, near the western end, excavations were begun, and an 
area 20 by 30 feet was dug over. From 18 to 30 inches below the sur- 
face hard, smooth floors of burned mud were encountered. In many 
places the bounding walls of the rooms were hard to locate, the 
transition from one chamber to another being indicated by a change 
in the floor level. Such walls as were unmistakable were of two 
types. The first consisted of clay plastered directly upon the walls 
of the pits, which had been excavated slightly into the natural soil; 
the second, of dividing walls composed of thin slabs of stone set on 
edge, some of a single row, others of two or more rows parallel to 
each other and crossed at intervals by other flat stones set at right 
angles to them. The interstices were filled with mud, and apparently 
the same material had been applied as plaster to the exposed faces 
of the slabs. 
The one room of which all four sides were distinguishable was 44 
by 54 feet. From the amount of charcoal present in the soil and the 
flimsy character of the bases of the walls it appeared that the upper 
parts must have been built of wood, but the manner of construction 
was not discovered at this time. 
One small extremely crude pot (pl. 66, ¢) was the only object of 
interest taken from the excavations at this end of the building. ; 
The northeast corner of the ruin was also opened. Here were 
encountered the bases of several walls built of small sandstone 
spalls, which at one time had been held together with adobe mud. 
These walls, which were very poorly constructed, bounded rooms 
about 6 feet square. The relatively small quantity of fallen stone 
indicated that, as at the other end of the building, the upper walls 
had been constructed of other material. Beneath the walls were 
about 2 feet of soil filled with pottery and charcoal, showing that 
the site was occupied long before the stone walls were built. In a 
corner of one of the rooms was the water bottle shown in plate 70, d. 
Because of the dilapidated condition of the ruin, operations in the 
building itself were abandoned. 
