ARCHEOLOGY. 



15 



thrown around the margin. All have been considerably filled in by cul- 

 tivation, but some are yet from six to eight feet deep and eighty to one 

 hundred and fifty feet in diameter, measuring from the highest part of the 

 wall. The sides now slope uniformly, whatever may have been their 

 original shape, to form an inverted cone; in wet weather they contain 

 some water, which soon disappears. The same end is also effected in a pecu. 

 liar manner; on a low, depressed ridge connecting two hills, commanded 

 by high ground on every side, a circular embankment has been thrown 

 up to a height of eight feet on so small an area as to leave no level space 

 inside, the inner face of the bank forming a conical basin whose bottom 

 is at the original surface. This form is the last connecting link between 

 the enclosures and the mounds. 



The purpose of these pits is beyond conjecture; there is nothing in 

 use among modern tribes. with which they can bccompared. 



(e.) ARTIFICIAL ROADWAYS. 



The existence of a few gentle inclines from a higher to a lower 

 terrace, or to a stream, has caused a belief that the J ' Mound Builders" 

 cut such roadways, piling the earth on either side. None were thus made. 

 The few which are actually artificial have escaped notice through their 

 insignificance; they are usually found in connection with larger groups 

 of works situated on a plain with steep banks. To facilitate ascent, steps 

 would be cut or a pathway dug, the removed earth falling toward the 

 bottom. With every heavy rain, more or less dirt would wash down, and 

 from throwing this out of the way, the excavation would widen and 

 deepen ; in time a gully of considerable width and easy slope would 

 result. 



Fig. 1. View of Graded Way, near Piketon. 

 Those usually described or figured are natural depressions, possibly 

 slightly modified, which happened to be where they were needed." The 

 '' Graded iWay" at Piketon has long been cited as a remarkable 



