28 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



original height and its contour has also been modified. Four test areas 

 were dug in the vicinity of the present apex of the mound to deter- 

 mine if possible where the original apex had been, and also to discover 

 the physical makeup of the feature and the possible purpose for its 

 construction. One of the test areas exposed the outline of a rectangu- 

 lar structure with rounded corners and a subterranean floor. The 

 posts which had formed the walls had been placed at 2-foot intervals. 

 Because of lack of time the house remains were not completely ex- 

 cavated. Enough was done, however, to determine its general charac- 

 teristics. Two of the other test areas showed that the mound had 

 been erected in several stages over a period of years. In each case 

 the exterior mantle consisted of a hard-packed bluish-gray sandy clay 

 which varied from 3 to 6 inches in thickness. Each mantle in turn 

 had been spread over a layer of clean river sand averaging 1 foot 

 3 inches in thickness. There had been at least four such features, 

 and additional digging may reveal still earlier ones. Not much arti- 

 fact material was recovered, but such as was foimd indicates that 

 the latest culture represented probably was Cherokee with an earlier 

 underlying Etow^ah horizon. The site may well have been that of the 

 Cherokee village and mound known as Chauga. 



On the Georgia side of the Tugaloo Eiver approximately 2 miles 

 downriver from the Yonah Dam of the Georgia Power Co. is a village 

 and mound site which also has Cherokee affinities. This is the largest 

 site in the Hart well Basin and lies on a sandy ridge 1,000 feet long 

 and 150 feet wide which parallels the river. There was a small 

 mound 150 feet from the northern limits of the ridge which upon 

 excavation proved to be quite unusual. The top layer or mantle 

 consisted of a sandy humus. This covered a small mound of river 

 cobblestones of various weights and diameters which was approxi- 

 mately 2 feet in height and 18 feet in diameter. Directly underneath 

 the base of the rock mound was a series of seven heavy-packed ash 

 and calcined bone-filled basin-shaped hearths. Each of the hearths 

 was circular in outline and averaged slightly over 5 feet in diameter 

 and from 1 foot to 18 inches in depth. Because of the presence of the 

 fragmentary calcined bones it was thought that the basins served as 

 crematory areas over a long period of time. After the last or upper- 

 most hearth had served its purpose, the cobblestone mound was erected 

 over the crematory area, perhaps to indicate that it was a place of 

 particular significance or to protect the features lying beneath it. 

 Thus far such a manifestation is unique in southeast archeology and 

 it may indicate a local cult which has previously passed unnoticed 

 or has not been reported. 



Adjacent to and south of the mound were the remains of three 

 houses representing different types of structure. The uppermost was 

 approximately square and the walls had been constructed by placing 



