A PRE-HISTORIC CASTLE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 90, 11 December 1912, Page 8

A PRE-HISTORIC CASTLE.

REMARKABLE RUINS UN-

EARTHED

GRIM DISCOVERIES

Of all the ancient civilisations of the world, there is not one of which less is known than the Aztec, and now scientists are on the eve of a scries of discoveries which, it is hoped, will throw a flood of light on the life of the mysterious, highly-cul-tured race which inhabited New Mexico a thousand years ago.

For some time past exploration parties have been engaged m disinteiiiug a vast ruin which the desert sands of Now Mexico have buried during the ages. Their work has so far proceeded that the remains of a gigantic castle, three storeys in height,’ and containing no fewer than a thousand apartments, have been disclosed. The whole structure is now to he thoroughly examined, and valuable archaeological results are looked for.

it is evident that this structure was a great communal dwelling, and that, despite its" strong 1 fortification's. 1 ' the inhabitants were massacred after an assault by the savage nomadic tribes of the desert. In the rooms that have been excavated, many skeletons were found lying in distorted positions and with weapons still clutched in bony hands. Skulls were crushed in, arrows were found still embedded in breast bones, and the doors and windows were stalled with, half-burned brush, showing that the victors had attempted to burn the citadel which they had so successfully besieged. 1000 YEARS AGO. It is practically certain that the inhabitants of this strange community house, which was built on an open plain from rocks hewn from a near-by quarry, lived at least 1000 years ago, even antedating the cliff dwellers, whose eyerielike houses are to be found in the cliffs of the Mesa A erde country, 200 miles to the north-west. That the community dwellers were far in advance of the nomadic tribes who were their enemies is evidenced by the jewellery and ornaments found in the rooms.

About a score of apartments, all rectangular in shape, have been explored, and access to all the rooms will he possible as the work advances. What strikes the observer is the remarkable way in which the ceilings were constructed. Stout cedar logs were laid across the thick walls, and across these logs were laid saplings, at right angles. On top of the saplings is a network of stout withes. These ceilings are practically as good to-day as when the community dwellers made them. They have supported tons of debris from the upper storeys, which have caved in owing to the disintegrating forces of time. FEATS OF THE BUILDERS. The stones of which the community house was constructed were quarried from the top of a distant hill. The wide roadt ravelled by. the ancients in going to and from this quarry is still in evidence, winding across the plain.

Evidently the stone, after being quarried, was loaded on nule sledging carts and then dragged to the site of the building, whose construction must have required the efforts of several thousand workmen. The stones are neatly hewn, though the work must have been done wi h stone implements, as no iron (Tools or weapons have boon found in the building. The plastering was done in a workmanlike manner, with adobe mud, which, when j iv. the store rooms and tho ruins I In toh store rooms and tho ruins i corn has been found, both shelled 1 and on the cob. Some of the corn was I petrified, which points to its great age 1 lint in one sealed jar were found sevI era I ears in a state of perfect preser- | ration. Some of this corn was plant•j ed, and, to 11 in surprise of those whr ‘ carried out the experiment, a gonerou? j! crop resulted. In the store room' ; were found the bones of turkeys, bu

I tu> evidence of nny other sort of doines- ! ticated fowl has been found in the ruins.