THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 24I 



kind on the flats, notably back of the Thomas Indian School, but 

 most of the other traces of occupation are Seneca and more modern, 

 or in at least one case, modern Delaware. 



The earthwork of the Double \\'all Fort consists of a well- 

 preserved curved wall and ditch crossing the neck of land between 

 the point and the main part of the terrace; and a second and lower 

 wall with a shallower ditch parallel to and inside the larger one. 

 The outside wall has two gates, the inner one none, but instead a 

 gap between its southern end and the brink of the ravine. The 

 walls are concave outward, with ditches in both cases outside. From 

 the bottom of the ditch the top of the highest wall is at one place 5 

 feet, 7 inches, but this is variable. The ditch itself is 2 feet, 10 

 inches deep; the wall 15 feet thick and about 215 feet long. The 

 height of the inner wall is 2 feet, 7 inches, its width 11 feet. The 

 two walls are 27 feet apart from crest to crest. A glance at the 

 drawings will show their shape and construction. It is certainly 

 startling to come across the great wall and ditch stretching away 

 into the tangled second growth chestnut, briers and underbrush 

 which cover the site. The photographs give some idea of the 

 effect. 



The ancient village stood upon the point proper, cut ofif from the 

 rest of the terrace by the embankments and the palisades which 

 doubtless once surmounted them. The other sides were protected 

 by their steepness and also perhaps by palisades set along the edges 

 of the bluff. If these were ever used, however, there is now no 

 sign of them. In fact I found no traces whatever of the palisades 

 themselves even in cross sections made of the larger wall. This 

 may be accounted for by the gravelly character of the soil which is 

 favorable neither for the preservation of the actual wood of the 

 palisade nor for retaining any trace of the post hole. There is no 

 doubt that such palisades were generally used; for not only do the 

 writings of the early explorers tell of many instances among the 

 Iroquoian tribes; but decayed or charred portions of them have 

 been actually found in situ on other sites similar to this.^ The 

 pickets must have been planted in this case along the top of the 

 wall, perhaps in a single row. It does not seem possible that any 

 other arrangement could have been effective here. It is difficult to 

 see how the gates were made secure unless perhaps the southern one 

 is recent and was made bv the modern Seneca for convenience in 



^ Beauchamp, Aboriginal Occupation of New York, p. 27. 



