90 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



rounded by a swamp from which rise sloping hills is a rise of land 

 some 3 feet above the swamp level. Upon this rise of ground is 

 an oval or rather kite-shaped earthwork 1297 feet in circumference. 

 The wall is now from 22 inches to 24 in hight and is composed of 

 the earth which was scooped from an outer ditch bordering the 

 wall. This earthen ridge first attracted the attention of Obed 

 Edson who some 50 years ago was engaged in running the lot lines. 

 Some mention of it is contained in the various county histories to 

 which he has contributed or written. Numbers of men distin- 

 guished in archeologic science have visited the place and more than 

 a dozen years ago representatives of the Smithsonian Institution 

 made some investigations there. To the west of the earth wall rises 

 a small knoll which appeared to be composed of glacial sand and 

 to the north running through a little valley is a brooklet. Within 

 the wall are numerous pits or depressions 5 or 6 feet in diameter 

 and 3 to 9 inches deep. These, upon examination, proved 

 to be shallow refuse pits with an original depth of from i 

 to 2j^ feet. A rather remarkable pit is situated almost in the 

 center of the inclosure and measures 157 feet in circumference with 

 a depth of 5 feet. The earth wall is surrounded on its outer side 

 by a ditch which is at present but little more than a foot below the 

 normal level of the surface. The wall at present is on the average 

 8 or 9 feet through at the base ^and the crest of the ridge rises 

 2 feet in places. The ditch and wall are entirely visible in lot 38 

 and the wall may be traced in lot 30 where the ground has been 

 cultivated for several years. An enormous white pine stump stands 

 on the northwestern side of the wall. A cross-section of this stump 

 was made by Hon. Obed Edson and more than 400 rings were 

 counted. At the northwest corner of the earthwork where the 

 stump stands, the surface of the ground is 20 feet higher than the 

 brook bed which lies to the north 25 feet distant. At the lot line 

 on the east the earth wall takes an abrupt turn almost at right 

 angles and runs about parallel to the line for 450 feet. 



Within the inclosure at about its mid point is the bowl-shaped 

 depression, previously mentioned. This pit is 5 feet deep and 50 

 feet in diameter. In area the inclosure is about 3 acres. • 



It was found after some expenditure of time that very little in 

 the line of movable material data bearing on the original inhabitants 

 could be hoped for. Specimens of the arts and manufactures were 

 few and fragmentary. However, bearing in mind that the problem 

 was to discover the identity and characters of the builders of the 



