140 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 118 



of itself, can be of but little service in determining the identity 

 of the builders of Site No. 16. 



Site No. 17.— LEA FARM VILLAGE AND MOUNDS 



The Charles Lea farm lies on the east bank of Clinch River about 

 6 miles south of Clinton, Tenn. It is situated on a hill about 40 

 feet above the level of the river. This particular site, an ancient 

 village and three earth mounds, lies about 800 feet east of the 

 Clinch River. It is probable that at one time the river was much 

 closer to the site than at the present time. It probably flowed in 

 the valley which is now occupied by the tracks of the Louisville 

 & Nashville Railroad. From the terrain it appears that at high 

 water the river was at times not more than 200 feet from the 

 mound area. The village and the mounds lie on the crest and east- 

 ward slope of a hill, covered with a fertile red-clay soil, which 

 has long been in cultivation. The surrounding country is moun- 

 tainous, and most of it is heavily wooded. 



Village Site 



A superficial examination of the site showed that a large part 

 of the cornfield lying within a fenced area was an ancient village. 

 Inasmuch as the owner desired to plant the field in corn, and since 

 the mounds were on the edge of the field and partly within an old 

 orchard, it was found desirable to investigate the village site first. 



Figure 57 shows a detail of the trenches in the village site and 

 the location of features discovered. If time had permitted it 

 would have been desirable to have completely excavated the whole 

 fenced area of the cornfield lying northwest of the mound area. 

 The early approach of the corn-planting season compelled the dis- 

 continuance of trenching in the open field. Abundant evidence was 

 obtained, however, of the existence of a rather extensive village 

 northeast of the mound area. The present high fertility of this area 

 and its selection by early settlers for cultivation is probably due 

 in no small part to the heavy covering of midden material deposited 

 on this hillside by the people of the ancient village. Special fea- 

 tures are listed numerically in the order found and locations are 

 given by numbered trenches shown on the base plat, figure 57. 



In trenching, the humus layer, about 12 inches thick, was re- 

 moved down to the hardpan in trenches usually 12 feet wide. The 

 hardpan surface was troweled or sheared off with sharp shovels 

 after careful removal of the humus layer to permit a search for 

 post molds or any other disturbance, as shown in plate 95, h. 



