Arizona republican., 1901-05-23
WALLS OF A CASTLE
What Has Been Found in Excavating
 the Old Ruin.

Considering the short time and small amount of work devoted to the explora- ton of the old ruin near the crosscut canal. the results are highly satisfac- tory. The place was visited yesterday by reporter for The Republican, and while nothing particularly new has de- vel1pcd since the work was last men toned in these columns. it can be a little more accurately described.
 Operations were begun on the east side Cs the old ruin by scraping away for distance of probably l50 feet the talus O. debris that has fallen from the anCient walls. the terrace that origin ally surrounded the building, having been previously partially removed on that side. The first solid formation met with seemed to be an adobe wall per haps IS inches thick and constructed as a sort of a protection to the larger wall, which will be next deg.cribed The greater part of this adobe wall was re- moved leaving bare the main east wall of the structure. At a selected place an open cut was then made through the big wall which proved to be of varying thickness from six to seven feet and constructed of rock set in mortar or adobe mud. The rock used is of vary ing dimensions as well as differing kinds. Stil the greater number would be considered small as compared with building stone of the present day, and by far the greater portion of the rock seems to be a sort of tufa, very similar to and no doubt coming from a quarry located a mile or so distant. This wall Is irregular on it's outer sur face as though 1t had been originally ! intended to cover the face of it with the adobe wall. Just within the big wall is seemingly another adobe wall similar to the one on the outside, of an equal or greater thickness. Just what it's aver { age thickness is cannot be determined. for the reason that so little of it is ex- posed yet. That is about the extent of
 the present excavating.
 A necessarily tiresome though good beginning has been made and from now on the work will be more interesting as the rooms of the old chambers are en- tered. though the work must necessar- | fly be slower, as 1t can be carefully pur- sued only with a pick. shovel and | wheelbarrow, The open cut has been
 started directly in line with the highest ! portion of the ruin and is headed to-
 ward what is believed to be one of the most interesting portions of the ruin ] The cropplngs of many cross walls are ! directly ahead, and these numerous i small rooms are believed to contain in- 1 teresting curiOs but if not. their open | ing up will afford some basis of specu-
 lation as- to the purpose for which they ! were constructed.
 ! Regarding curiOs already recovered ! it may be said it was not expected that
 anything of value would he found al { this early stage of the operations. and
 while nothing disslmilar to finds here.
 tofore secured in other places has as yet
 been recovered, quite collection of tho
 usual curios is in evidence. There are
 a number of shells a little piece of tur. quoise, some curiously cut stones. oi slate formation with holes cut in tho ! ends and shaped similar to a painters , piaoque. number of broken metats and countless pieces of broken pottery
 in the collection. Probably the mos unusual find is a quantity of human
 hair of reddish-black or brown color
 somewhat finer than the hair of ar
 Indian, vet perhaps not so fine as tho
 hair of the ordinary Caucasian.