KOCKINGIIAM BOUNTY

Tnini-.KVILLK.

A

mile north of Timbervillc

was

a small

mound,

2 feet high, on a slight natural elevation near the left l)ank of the Slienandoah. It contained several skeletonsextended at full length atthelevel of the natural surface. Flat stones were set on edge around the bodies

and

others placed over them.

LINVILLK.

Two

miles northwestof Linville, on the farm of

Mr

S.

M. Bowman,

is a

mound

^near the

bank

of Linville creek. After

heavy

rainsthe

mound

is often the only dry spot between the hills for 3or 3 miles along the stream.

It

now

measures 05 by 75 feet,

and

3 feet high, the longer diameter trending northwest

and

southeast.

Over

the entire surface of the

mound,

toadepthof inches, thereis notso

much

as a space 3 inches square,that did not contain fragmentsofbone which

had

been dragged

down

fromthe toj)

by

cultivation.

Five trenches were extended inward from theedge of the

mound.

For a considerable distance no remainsof any description were found

in any oftlieseexcept theone from the .southwestern side.

At

24 feet

from the center of the

mound

a small hole afoot deep contained the decayed bonesofa

young

child,which, judging from their dis])osition,

wereevidently theremains ofa skeleton burial.

When

undisturbed bones were reached the inner ends of these trencheswereconnected, isolating a

mass

of earth nearlycircular in

38 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

_[Ithnolooy

form, 30feet in diameter, which

was

tilled from tlietop to fully2 feet

belowthelevel of theoriginal surfacewith skeletons

and

bone-bedsin theutmostconfusion. There

was

scarcelyacubicfootofearthinwhich

human

remainsof

some

description werenot discovered. Sometimes a single skeleton, perhaps that of a very

young

infant,

would

befound, the fewbones remaining being in their proper position, with

many

beads aroundor

among

them; again the long bonesof several adults wouldl)elaid closely together, like stickstied in abundle. Occasion- ally5 or skulls would be incontact, with not a lower

jaw

near <'nough to have been deposited with any of them; or an entire skull

would

beⁱⁿ a niass of bones

many

^{of Avhich} belonged to

some

other skele- ton.

Cremated human

bones were found in little deposits

by

them-

selves, orunderthebundled skeletonsofone^or

more

individuals, or in the middle^of a strjitum of bones afootthick showing no evidence of incineration.

When

the southeastern trench reached thebonedepositsit

had

awidth or faceof 18feet.

At

thewestern sideofthis,afootabove thebottom of the

mound,

were the bones of an infant with a large

number

of {MarjjineUa) shellbeads. Sixfeetfromthelatter, attlie

same

level,

was

a skullon which lay the frontal bone of anotlier. These weie atthe edgeof abonepile alittlelessthan3 feetacross,containing 10skulls,

some

of

them

burned to cinders.

Among them was

a black steatite pij)e, and abovethein, with an interveinng layerof earth from S to 10 inchesthick,

was

athin

and

very uneven stratum of charcoal.

Just at the middle of the face

was

a hole G inches deep; in the bottomlay a skeleton, doubled, with :i lotof Mavfiindla shells

among

the bones of the head and neck.

Above

this

was

a bone bed 3 feet thick containing 14 skulls; init werea drill an<l a kliife ofblack

flint

and

o boneneedles.

Two

feetnearer the center werepiledabout apeckof small fragmentsof bones,

some

of which werecalcined.

Fourfeet fartherfromthe easternsideof theface,afootfromthetop, began a

mass

of bones which reached in an unbroken layerfor 10 feet north

and

south, withfully halfthat width atthe middle,

and

in

some

places

more

than a foot thick;

among them

were aroughslate gorget, aperforaterof deer bone,

and

G triangular arrowheads.

They

were packed so closelytogether that theearth could notsettlebetweenthem.

Under them

laythe bones of avery small chihlintheir])ro]>erposition with thehead towardthe northeast;

many

il/^rf>7//»r//r<shellswerescat teredfrom its head to its knees. Within a few inches,

and

parallel,

were the remainsof another infant, alsoin position; with italsowere a

number

ofMarghuilashells

and

12 rather long columellas.

A

little farthertoward the center

was

the skeletonofathird infant,nearwhich were foundhalf a pintof Marati>ella shells, aswell as38 columellasof various lengths.

Under

^{these, its outer margin 18feet from the center,}

was

aburial pitafootin depth, 10 feet long, and from 3 to3i feet wide, the longer

ARCHEOLOOY

tOWKK ]

EXCAVATIONS AT LINVILLE 39

axis parallel with that of the inoimd,in vhieh were the reinaiiis of 32 adults

and

7 children.

Only

the bones had been deposited,

and

they were mingled in tlie most i)romisciious manner. In the southeastern endofthe jiittherewere

many

fragments of

human

skulls, limb bones,

and

vertebrie,

some

of

them

completely incinerated.

The

only other relicsfound were a few columellas split lengthwise, none beingentire.

Almost

exactly at the middle of the bank,

was

a grave 4 feet in diameter

and

10 inches deep, in which lay the skeleton of an adult, lyingon therightside,nearlystraight,with thehead towardthe south.

Three columellas UAto 3 inches long

and

oneCinches long lay

by

the head.

When

the

bank was

C feetfrom the center,14 skeletonsmingled with earthwerediscovered atits eastern end.

They

occui)ied aspace 4 feet indiameter

and

alittle

more

than 3 feet in thickness, extending afoot below the original level.

A

claypipe,

many

ManjlneUa shells, 2 long columellas,

and

thecremated bonesofa child an<lan adultwere

among

them.

Four

of the skulls lay almost in a vertical line separated

by

2 to 4 iniihesof earth.

Within

afew inches of this deposit, toward the center,

was

a small bone-bed a foot thick, near the middleof which

was

a thin stratumof the cremated bonesofayouth

and

an adult; scattered throughit were 2 steatite platform pipes, 4panther claws,

and

4 columellas. Five or G skulls alsowere found. Immediately belowlaythebonesofan infant intheir properposition, with disk

and

Marginella shellbeads; alittle

nearer the center on the bottom of the

mound

were the remains of another infant,

who

evidently

had

been b(nnbut afew days,

and

with which were38 columellas

and many

disk beads.

Near

the center of the

mound,

in soft black earth apparentlyresult- ing fiom decayoforganic matter,

was

abone dei)osit8feet across.

At

itswestern margin

was

the skeleton of an infant^' having small beads scattered from head to feet.

Near

this,

among

the bones, were other deposits of beads;

and

at various points a broken

and

a perfect clay

l)ipe,2 well-made steatitepipes,

and

a triangulararrowhead were found.

The

arrowhead, like all other finished tiint implements found at this locality, was^delicately worked, thin, symmetric,

and

sharp.

A

femur

was

found that

had

sustained a

compound

fracture,theends having overlappedfullytwoinches

and

healedinthatposition.

Another

femur

was

greatly enlarged, rough,

and

with adeep holeapparently oftubei*- cular origin in the side runningparallel with the shaft.

A

foot above this dep(»sit

was

one similarbut smaller. In it were

many

fragmentsof burned bones of various parts of the body, as well as a

number

of teeth.

Four

feet westof the center

was

agrave 2 feetdeep,ⁱⁿ which lay a skeleton,doubleduj),on rightside,with thehead southward. W^itli it

'Noinfantin thismonudhadhcenfolded,though uono of the manyskeletonsof youthsand older childrenwereextended.

40 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

^rnuREAu_Lethnology^OF were a gorget of fine finish; a lot of red

and

yellow oclier; a large columella; disk beads; a netor

weaving

needle, liiglilypolished from use, with a holein the end opposite the point(figure7);' a boneorna-

ment

in theformof a comb,

and

the upper portion of another having ayoke or

Y

shajie, delicately worked

and

covered with incised lines (figures 8

and

9). It will tlius be seen that the

number

of burial accompaniments

was

un'usually large for this section.

Over

these remains, at the level of the bottom of the

mound, was

a folded skeleton, resting on the left side, thehead to the south, with which were2 columellas, one

r>the otherG inches long, the latter having abone drill

stuck in the perforation and broken oif even with the

end of the .shell. Just at the northern edge of the

grave were thebones of an infant;

upon them was

the outer whorl of a conch shell which

had

been partly

filled with a])ont ai)intof jMarginella shells

and

inverted over the body.

Above

the conch, with lessthanan inch of earthbetween,laytheskullof anadult

whose

skeleton, Avhich rested on the right side,

was

doubled, the head beingtoward the south.

At

the center, a foot above the bottom, were

human

bones, of large size, cremated before the flesh liad been removed:

some

fragments only2 or 3 inches long were burned to a cinder at one end while the other ends were as fresh in 'apiiearance as

any

bones found.

A

columella

and

a i)anther claw were with them, but

may

have fallen from the bone stratum above. In the earth under the burned bone

was

considerable charcoal which reached afew inches north of it

and

stopi)ed atthe edge of agrave afoot deep

and

4 leet across, in which were 2 skeletons; one doubled, on right side, head toward the south; the other apparently in the

same

position, but so decayed as to

make

this uncertain.

With

the

firstwere2bone needlesnearthe top of the skull,3 colu- mellas5 to G inches long" underthe skull,

and

a quartz crystalnear the chest; Avith the other were5 columellas, a flint knii'e, a ^{flint drill,}

and

a ^lot of shell beads, the latter scattered overa foot in area.

Immediately north of this grave

was

another a foot deepcontaining the skeleton of an adult; tlie skeleton of an infant with columellas

and

Marf/inella shells layjust above it.

On

the natural level above these

was

a skeleton accom- panied

by

a veryfine gorget,aceltscraper, 7pieces of hematite which

'Thisimplementbad been longer, with a hole farther from the point, hut had been brokenandaneweyedrilled in it.

Pig. 7.

—

Bone needle from Linville,Vir- ginia.

ARCHEOLOGY"!

FOWKK J

EXCAVATIONS AT

LINVILLE

41

liad staine<I tlieearth about^{tliem a V)i'ight} red,^.> bone polishers,4bone needles,

and

G quartz crystals, one of the latter witha slight groove around aprojection from the end.

Over

this

was

a layer of charcoal extending

upward

tothe 10 footstratumofbone above mentioned,

and

containingseveral

hundred

Marginellashel'sthat

showed

indicationsof having been burned.

Above

the northernmarginof the charcoal layer

was

a skull

by

wliich lay 14 columellas; (> inches to the northward ofthis Avas another skullwith aflint

drill, 2 arrowheads,

some

cores

and

chips, 2 bone jtolishers

and

2 bone needles;

and

a foot northward from thelast

was

athird with3 columellas.

These were all at the bottom ^of the bed, and it

was

impossible to trace

any

connectionbetween

them and

the other bones.

A

grave southwestofthe centercon- tained a^doubled skeleton,on tlie left side, head toward the south;

by

the skulllaythe lower portion of theorna-

ment shown

infigure9,'

and

a

number

of animal ribs5or inches long

and

obtusely pointed at one end; at the northernedgeof thegraveon theorig- inal surface

was

a

mass

of red ocher.

From

this level to the top of the

mound,

over the grave

and

on every sideofit,was amixtureof bones,

nmny

of

them

burned; beads,bothshell

and

disk;

and many

columellas.

Eightfeet east of the center

was

a funnel-shapeburial pit6

by

8feetat the top,extendingtheentiredepthof the

mound,

the sides being slightly incurved.

An

inverted pot, holding about_1^pints,layatoneside. There were scores of in<Iividual skeletons,

butallthebones werecrushed,broken, ^{fig.s.^carv.Hii.onefv....,} Lmviiio, Virginia.

and

displaced,so thatvery few pieces of skull

more

than 2 or.'» inches

ill,diameterwere found.

Under

this deposit

was

a grave a foot «leep, 4 feet north

and

south

by

5.^ i'cet east

and

west. In this were IS skel- etons, including those of 2 infantswith Avhom were mussel shells and

shellbeads.

Among them

wereapieceof decayed

wood

(apparently a pine knot), 22 columellas, a celt,

some

disk beads, a bone needle,

and

potsherds.

At

the northwestern corner, partly ou the natural

'Oiiiiof those "coiiilts''is1.")^inches,tlieother17 inches, ⁱⁿleugth.

42 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

^rnuiiE_{LrtiiniNOLOGY}^ATTOF

surface

and

partly witliin tlie grave,

was

a doubled skeleton, on left side,with head toward the south.

Behind

thehead

was

a pot lyingon

its side,broken ⁱⁿ pieces

by

the pressure of theearth,

and

containing a tortoise shell

and

fragmentsof animal bones.

Almost

touching the pot,on the oppositeside,

was

anotherskulllying vertex

upward

onthe scapuliB

and

backbone;

the

arms

were in their proi)er ])laces, but the bones of the legs

and

lower part of the

body

wore not distinguish- able

among

those which rested

upon

them. This a[)i)arently

was

a skel- eton burial, with

some

effort toplace the l)ones as they belonged.

Un-

der

and

in contactwith one scapula

was

a pa- tella belonging to a

much

larger person.

The

bonesintheupper portion of the funnel- shape ])it were continu- ouswitha stratum afoot thick,25 feet long,

and

with an average width of 10 feet. This termi- nated at the extreme northern edge with a similar but slightly smaller pit.

Of

necessity the face or

bank

of the trench

was

in a very^irregular

line,eachdeposit,except the 25-foot bonebed, liavingbeen thoroughly worked out asdiscover- ed.

The

projectingi)or- tionswerenext

removed

with the

same

general results as already de- scribed, though there

was

nothing of striking interest found in them.

When

the line

was

rectifiedthe face

was

12feet north of the centerpoint.

Here

3 small graves about10 or 12 inches deep were found almost in aline, each containing skeletons with colnmellas

and

Manjinella shells.

Fin.0.—Caryeclbone fromLinvillc,Virffiiiia.

ARCHEOLOGY

FOWKK ]

EXCAVATIONS AT LINVILLE 43

Coiucideiitwithtlieface atthe western side

was

theedye ofasaucer- shape depression intheoriginal soil, a little

more

than 4 feet across

and

16 inches deep at the center. It contained a bed of ashes

and

charcoal 3 inches thick at themiddle

and

gradually thinning toward the sides.

On

this

and

nearly parallel lay the

arm and

^legbones of 2 adults, burnedblack, with no tracesof other bones belonging tothe

same

^bodies.

Lying

on them, in contact,

was

the spinal column of an adult,very soit from decay, not in the least degree charred or even smoke-stained.

The

skull lay at one side of the depression; at the opposite si<le

was

the head of a humerus; between thesewere

many

other bonesso decayed that theircharactercould not beascertained.

As

the vertebra-! were in their proper jjosition, the

nnburned

bones

must

have belonged to

more

than one individual,

whose

remains had evidentlybeenplaced on thecremated bonesafterthelatter

had become

cold.

North of the center,(J feetfrom the cremated bones,

was

a skeleton afoot

and

a halfabove thebottomofthe

mound,

with a

number

ofshell beads.

A

fewfeeteast ofthiswas a grave8 inches deep, largeenough tocontain only a

body

closely folded,whichrested on itsleftside, with

head

towardthe south.

At

the top of theskull

was

abrokenclaypipe.

A

^footlower

down and

almost at the limitof the burials

was

a large mortar, concave on both sidesJbut nctt otherwise dressed.

In the funnel-shape pit wiiichterminatedthe large

bone

stratum, as wellasinafewplacesinthe

mass

itself,werefoundboneswhich,judging fromtheir position,

may have

belongedtoabundledordoubledskeleton, but the evidence is too slight to state this as a ^fact.

Only

(me relic

was

found in the noithern half of this bone-bed

—

^{a dressed jiiece of}

mussel ^shell an inch

and

a half square with a hole drilled near the center.

Under

thepit

was

theend of a gravea little

more

than a foot deep, barely 3 feetwide,

and

extending 12i feet on a line exactly east

and

west. In ^itwere19skeletons, includingthose of 3infants

and

of2 or3 olderchildren.

Only

one

was

doubled,all the otherbones having been promiscuously thrown in.

The

onlyspecimens found were a few

Mar-

ginella shells

and

disk beads.

The

soilof the bottom is the black loam found alongwater courses which overflow freiiuently; it is very

muddy when

wet, but easily

dug when

dry. This _i^robably accounts for the location of the

mound.

Many

higher placesclose

by

on eachsideofthe creek ^afford

ample

level spaceforthe construction ofsucha tumulus, butthesoil is a limestone clay, difficultto

work by

aboriginal methods.

The many ways

ⁱⁿ which theremains were deposited are explicable only

by

the supposition that thisw'aslong a generalburiali)lace.

But

there

was

novillageor

camp

in the immediatevicinity, for no burned earth or stones, no ashes or animal bones, very few pottery fragments,

and

not half a dozen Hint Hakes were foundintheentire structure.

The dismembered

condition of

44 JAMES AND rOTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

_[cthnoloqv remains

and

tlie absence of relics in thebone-beds denote the jDeriod- ical collection

and

interment of skeletons, while the position of the bones

and

thefindingof varions relics in nearly every grave withonly 1 or 2 skeletons indicate that other persons were bnried soon after death. This

was

^especiallythe case of infants,nearlyallof

whom had

been interred Avith

many

beads.

INIoreover,the bodies occnrred at all levels. In

many

placesgraves

had

been

dug

afterthe

monnd had

beenpartlyorevenwholly completed.

In others

—

^{especiallyin the} bone-be«ls

and

in 2 or 3 smaller deposits

somewhat

similar

—

^bones

^seem

^{to have been laid or} thrown on the surface ofthe

monnd and

covered with soil.

The

earth

was

souniform

in color

and

consistency thatthiscould notbe proved.

The

total niunber ofskullsfound

was

388, but inthe bone-beds, as well as inother places wheretheboneswere

much

broken, only those were counted of which

enough

remained in position to

make

certain therecouldbe noduplication. Neither

was any

accounttakenof the fragments of cremated ^skulls found in

more

than 20 different spots.

The mound had

been

dug

into several times previously, in adesultory way, yielding fragmentary skulls to everyone

who

chose to continue excavation.

A

great manj-

have

beendestroyed l)y the plow. Alto- gether it is probably safe to say that as originally constructed this

was

thecemeteryof not less than 800 individuals. Thereis no other

mound

nor

any

indication ofanotherburial place in theneighborhood;

but half a mile southward, on tlie opposite side of thecreek, a great quantity of chips, sjialls, and unfinished implementsof fiintforeign to thelocality have been found.