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NYSAA Bulletin No. 39 — Hudson Valley Shell Midden Dating — Passage 8 (part 4)

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[Various (1967)] Although refuse became progressively less abundant and the topsoil color lightened considerably, the subsoil in this trench produced a series of 23 postmolds which extended in a rough east-west line. Further clearing bf the subsoil revealed an additional 125 post molds ranging in diameter from 2 1/2" to 12" and in depth from 4" to 16". Associated with these postmolds were three hearths and a small pit. The molds seem to form a roughly rectangular pattern 18' by 26', with the long axis running in an eastwest direction (see map). Most probably, this roughly rectangular pattern represents a former house floor, and the irregularity of the rectangle is perhaps due to occasional repair or reconstruction of the dwelling. That the molds represent a house floor is further suggested by the features found within the rectangular pattern. In the center were found three hearths, features 3, 4, and 16 THE BULLETIN ATWELL FORT SITE (CZA 1-1) Cazenovia Township, Madison Co., New York EXCAVATION, DWELLING AREA 5, all consisting of fire-reddened patches of subsoil. Feature 4 was very slightly basin shaped a mere 2" deep from the surface of the subsoil, and contained, near its center, a small quantity of white ash and a few small potsherds. At opposite ends of the rectangle, and slightly off center, were two unusually large postmolds, features 1 and 6 (12" in dia meter and 11" deep, and 9" in diameter and 16" deep, respectively).