With repeated use, the stone and mortar will be lost and the entire wall will fall. With the wall may go a room or a series of connected rooms. It is best not to climb on walls and to avoid going into parts of the ruin that require stepping on walls and other features. Downslope from most ancient villages is an area of prehistoric trash, charcoal and other debris which archaeologists call the midden. Artifacts in these deposits are layered in such a way that they contain a great deal of information about the history of the site.
Middens are one of the most important parts of the site.
Care should be taken not to walk on these deposits or cause them to be mixed in any way.