ORANGE COUNTY

The

country along the upperportion of the

Rappahannock and

its tributaries

was

inhabited

by

tribes

known

collectively as the

Mana-

hoac.

They

probablymigrated

westward and

united withtribes

beyond

the OhioAvhose

names

theytook.

They and

the

Monacan

were allied against the

Powhatan,

though the dialects of these tribes were so diverse that interpreters wererequired.'

It willbeprop(!r todescribe here a

mound,

evidently a tribalburial place, situated in theformerterritory of the

Manahoac and

dueprob- ablyto their labor.

'Jefferson,Notes, pp.149, 156.

BULL.

w=23

3

34 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

^["liDUEAUliTHNOLOGY^OK

The mound

stands on theright

bank

^of

Kapidau

river,a mileeast of theboundary between

Orange and

Greene counties. Originallyit

was

elliptical inform, with the longer^axisnearlyeast

and

west; buttheriver in shiftingitschannel

some

years ago

undermined and

carried

away

the easternportion. Estimatesasto the

amount

removed,

made by

persons

who saw

the

mound

intact,vary fromone-halftotwo-thirdsoftheentire structure.

For

several years

more

or less of tlie earth composing it fell in ateveryfreshet, thuskeeping avertical sectionexposedtoview.

During

thistime thedifferentstrataofbone wereplainlyvisible,

and

at periods of low water fragmentsof

human

boneswere strewn along the shore beneath. Afterward the river took a

new

course

and

theearth on the exposetl side ofthe

mound

^soon

^assumed

^{its natural slope.}

At

present thebase ofthat portion^still remainingmeasures 42by 48feet,

withthe longer axisnearly north

and

south.

A

considerable partof thishasbeen hauled away, leaving a depression at the middlefully 20feetacross

nnd

extendingalmost to the bottomof the mound.

As

a^{result, the interior}

was

very nuiddy, the bones extremely soft

and

fragmentary,

and

excavation quitedifficult.

The

highest point left

by

these destructive agencies

was

feet

above the level of the surrounding held; to judge from the slope of theundisturbed surface the river

had

left itfully 10 feethigh.

How much more

it

may

have been,no one could say; if tlie statementscon- cerning itsoriginal form

and

extent be correct the apex

was

^{at least} 12 feetabove the base, thelatter being not less than 50

by

75feet.

Beginningat the northern side,the earth

was removed

from an area 28

by

40feet.

At

7 feetfrom the

margin was

foundthe outer edgeof a b(medeposit measuring G

by

^{15 feet,}the longer axis aboutparallel withthat of the

mound

asconstructed. It

was

very irregularboth in outline

and

thickness, in

some

places being 8 inches in depth

and

in othersshowingonly a thin chalkyseam. There wereindicationsin several places that skeletons

had

been compactly bundled; but most oftheboneswerescatteredpromiscuously, asifthey

had

beencollected from

some

i^laceof previousinterment

and

carelesslythrownin, there being no evidence of an attempt to place

them

in their i)roper order- In the

mass

were two small dei)osits of calcined

human

bones in minutefragments,

and

beneath ^it weregraves or burialpits whichwill

bedescribed later.

This bone-bed, which

was

at the levelofthe natural surface, Avas the largestfoundin

any

part of the

mound. Two

feetaboveit, and4feet within its outer margin,

was

another,

much

smaller;

and numerous

others were found in all the portion removed. There

was

no attempt at regularity in position or extent; in

some

places there

was

only atrace such as

may

have resulted from the decomposition of a few bones; in othersit seemed that as

many

as 15 or20 skeletons

had

been deposited.

They

occurred at all levels below a foot from the upper surlace ofthe

monml;

but nosection

showed more

than 4layers above

ARCHKOLOG

FUWKE^{'^']}

REMAINS

IN

ORANGE

('OUNTY

35

the original .surface of tlic ground, althoughit

was

reported that G strata

had

been found near the central portion. This would indicate that the burials werecarried nearlyto the top of the

mound.

There

was

nouniformity in either the vertical or horizontal space between thedeposits; it

was

i)laiu there

had

not been at

any

time a sufficient

number

of intermentsto cover

any

considerable partof w^hat

was

then the top of the

mound,

but that a quantity of bcmes, greater orlesser according- to circumstances,

had

been laidon the surface

and

covered withearth. Others were afterwards buried in the

same

way.

Thus

while no single vertical section would reveal

more

than 6 layers of bone,acareful removalofthe earth horizontallywould have uncovered

them

atprobablythreetimes that

number

of levels.

Inthe skeletonsallages

were

represented, for

among

theboneswere those of very

young

children, while of others

many

of the teeth were

worn

^to the neck.

Numerous

small deposits of

human

bones almost destroyed

by

fire

were scattered through the

mound. When

found in the bone-beds, they

seemed

to

have

been placed atrandom, but

when

found withthe remainsof not

more

than 2 or 3 skeletons they formed a thin layer

upon

wiiich the latter rested.

The

pitsorgraves mentioned above were of

two

kinds.

One

class

was

excavated to adepthof 2 feet in thesoil, with adiameter varying from4to 5feet; the others did notexceed afoot indepth,

and

allwere

somewhat

lessthan4 feetacross.

The

deeperones contained usually3 layers of

decomposed

bones at intervals of about 10 inches; in the shallower there

was

in

most

cases only a single layer, at the bottom, thoughina few a second deposit

had

been

made

afew inches above the

first.

The

bonesin

some

ofthegravesappeared to have beenplaced in their properjjosition; but ^it

was

impossibleto ascertainwithcertainty whether such

was

thecase.

One

of the deeper pits

had

its bottom

and

sides lined with charcoal; noneof the others

had

eventhis slight evi-

denceof careor respect. Theseholeswere so

numerous

as to coalesce

and

take

up

the entires]>ace withina limit of 10 feet from the margin of the

mound;

it

was

sometimes difficult to determine theline of sep- aration between two bone deposits.

When

all the earth indicating their position

had

been removed, a basintotheextentand depth above indicated

was

left, with only a few small points of the yellow sandy subsoil rising aboveits bottom.

Owing

tothe erosion

and

caving-in of the

mound

on itseastern side, the limitof the graves in thatdirection

couM

notbeascertained; but it is probable theyextended as near to the margin onthisside as elsewhere.

No

relicsof

any

sortwere depositedwith the bones; a rough

mor

tar,2 arrowheads,

and some

fragments of pottery were found loose inthedebris.

Itisi)lain thatthis spot

was

for a long period the burial place of a small tribe or clan,

among whom

prevailed the habit of stripping the flesh fromthe corpse before interment, or of depositing the

body

else-

36 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

_{[^thn'ETHNOLOOY}^AUOK

where

fora time

and

afterwards removingthe

dismembered

bonesto thisossuary.

That

no stated intervals elapsed between consecutive depositsis

shown by

the varying' position

and

size

among

theditlerent bone-beds,

and by

the overlapping of

many

^{of the}graves beneath.

Itis impossibletoaccurately estimate the

number

of skeletons ibund in this

mound;

buttherewerecertainlynot fewer than 200,

and

there

may

possibly liave been 250. These figures will represent, approxi- mately, one-fourth of theentire

number

dei)osited, ifthe statements as to theoriginal sizeof the

mound

be correct.

In itsconstruction this

mound

corresponds closelywith one opened

by

^Jefierson a few miles above (Jharlottesville in low ground of the IJivanna, except that no mention

was made

of graves occurringbelow the originalsurface; but thesemighteasily

have

been overlooked in the

method

of excavation pursued.

The

contents were such "as on the whole to give the idea of bones emptied promiscuously from a

bag

or basket

and

covered with earth, without'

any

attention to their order."^{^}

As

in the

mound

above described, " thebones near the top were in a

nmch

better state of preservation than those toward tlie

bottom." Thisisdue probablyless totheirbeingof

much

laterdeposit than to the drier earth near the top.

We

arefurther told _(pp. l!»l, 102)that^"aparty[ofIndians]passingaboutthirtyyearsago[i.e.,about 1751] throughthepart of thecountry wherethis barro^^'is

went

through the

woods

directly toit,without

any

instructions or inquiry,

and

having staidabout it

some

time, with expressions which were construedtobe those of sorrow, theyreturned to thehigh road, which they

had

left

about half adozen miles to

pay

thisvisit,

and

pursuedtheir journey."

Itisvery unfortunate that no one took the troubleto learn to

what

tribethesetravelersbelonged, as this knowledge would have given a clue tothe fate of the aborigines of this part of Virginia.