American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1916-02-24

"Ck 0UtUHO ROvUB1v AO OUvS -
senry Yet Pound IN TIE Southwest
Has 1000 Feet Of walls Decorated
WA GeOnetx1c FiguresLBu1ders
Were Probably Women.
Washdngton-The report just sub
mdtted to the Secretary OF the Interior
By DR.. J. Walker rewkes OF the Smith,
eonian institution, who conducted the
Qcavations OF last summer in the
Mesa Verde National Park, shows that
the ruins then unearthed were OF
extraordinary interest. In fact Sun
Temple, as It has been named Dc an
altogether new and mysterious type
Of ruin, the discovery Of which DR..
Tewkes calls q service to American
archaeology.
The mound which DR.. Fewkes at the
request Of the Interior Department,
opened last summer lay on a point Of
the Mesa. directly across Cliff canyon,
and opposite the celebrate prehistoric
ruin known as Cliff Palace. stones
strewn on the surface had shown signs
Of having been worked artificially, In
dicattng the character OF the masonry
Of some ancient building undoubtedly
buried below. Cedar or pinion trees
Of great age grew upon the mound, In
dtcattons pointed TO a building Of large
size. DR.. Fewkes had reported these
fa0tn O. long ago as 1908 and 1t had
become his great desire to penetrate
the mystery. ,se.f asa
During the prosecution OF the work
last summer nothing reached print, al
though a ruin Of large size and I'M
known character was rapidly emerg-
ing and hundreds Of national park
tourists visited the spot and listened
to DR.. Fewkes' campfire talks at
uiyht. During the autumn q few
hints Of the Importance Of the DIS
oovery became public; hut the offjc-
ial report here epttomised. contains
the fret definite information on the
subject. slm saa ..afaa
/. OF Entirely New Type.
An his hopes, DR.. Fewkes reports,
were realized. 1.-The results OF three
months work." he says, were more
striking than had been expected.
There wa brought to light a type
Of ruin bithrto unknown In the park,
and, - we'll expressed by q visitor,
the building ~excavated Shove the best
masonry and Ia the most mysterious
ruin yet discovered In a region rich In
20 many prehistoric remains. AL
though at first there was some doubt
% to the use Of the building. It was
early recognized that II was not con-
atructed for habitation. and 1t 10 now
believed that It was intended for the
performance Of rights and ceremon-
ies; the first OF Its type devoted to
religious purposes yet recognized In
the southwest.
"The ruin was purposely con-
structed On a commanding situation In
the neighborhood OF large inhabited
Off houses. 1t sets somewhat back
from the edge OF the canyon, but near
enough 10 present a marked object
from all sides. especially the neigh
boring mesas. II must have presented
an imposing appearance rising on top
Of a point high above Inaccessible.
perpendicular cliffs. No better plans
could have been chosen for a relig-
ious building In which the .nhabi-
tants OF many cliff dwelling could
gather and together perform their
great ceremonial dramas" ,8
The ruin has the form Of the letter
d. The building Ia IN two sections.
the larger OF which. taken separately,
- also D-shaped. This is considered
the original building. The addition en-
larging It ID regarded as an annex.
The south wall. which 10 straight and
includes both the original buildins
and the annex. " l21.7 feet long. The
ruin 10 81 feet wide.
Sacred Rooms and Others.
There are about 1000 feet Of walls
M the whole building. These wallis
average four feet In thickness and are
double. encloaing q central o N Of
rubble and adobe. They are uniform
ly we'll made.
The rooms In this building" pom
tinues the report. vary IN form and
type. M kind being circular, the 9TH
or rectangular. The former 10 identi-
fled ~ kfvas. or scored rooms; the
purpose a the latter h unknown.
There r two circular rooms or kivas
Il about equal sixe in the original
building and . third occupies the GEN.
ter of the annex.
There are % other rooms. IA Of
which are in the original building. the
walls Of which m parallel; several
curved. others straight. Three OF tbs
fosmer had entrances for the roofs,
four had lateral doors into the plaza,
and he Remained r arranged In two
series. the members Of which commu-
nicaAs with each other. None Il the
rooms a the annex have lateral door
wAya