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149 N o t e s o f M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 40 October 15, 1944 Archaeological Finds near Douglas, british Honduras A. Hamilton Anderson and Herbert J. Cook green which must have obliterated any paintwork it may have borne. Subsequently, M. Castillo, who dug the shaft for Gann, has stated that the surface of the wall was covered with red painted figures. The shaft also reveals that the upper portion of the mound was constructed with roughly squared limestone blocks and mortar. The road cutting is 1.5–1.8 m deep over this mound, and on each side is a bay from which spoil is dug. The chamber in which the polychrome dishes were found was in the bay on the southern side, and the other chamber was in the northern bay. Skeletal material was in both chambers but was not retained for examination. The foreman stated that one of the painted dishes, a very fine specimen, had an inverted dish standing in it, but apart from this nothing could be learned of the contents or size of the chambers . Since the spoil was not searched, it is not surprising that no jade or flint objects were reported. Only one small fragment of obsidian was found by the foreman. Both chambers had been completely demolished before Anderson could reach the site. The laborers had crowded into the chambers, in spite of orders to the contrary, and had smashed most of the dishes. They still foolishly believe that Indian mounds contain gold, and their greed has been the cause of the destruction of much useful archaeological material. This vandalism had occurred while the foreman was away, and at his return he had the good sense to collect as many of the broken pieces of pottery as he could. Many of the fragments had already been In building the road from San Pablo westward to Douglas in northern British Honduras, workmen used soil dug from two Indian mounds, in the larger of which they penetrated two chambers containing skeletal material and pottery. These mounds form part of the site of Noh Mul, partially excavated by T. Gann. When A. H. Anderson arrived on the scene, he discovered that the first mound was in the nature of a fairly extensive platform, about 4.5 m above the surrounding land and composed of marl and limestone . Accurate observation of the whole mound is exceedingly difficult because of the heavy bush which covers it. Since it was easier to take spoil from the second and larger mound, very little of the first was cut away, and in the process only a few vessels were found, of which the most notable, a black ware bowl, was stolen by a laborer. The second mound rises about 7.5 m above the road; but on the northern side, where it slopes steeply down to the swamp, the height is nearer 15 m. The present conical shape is no doubt due to the piles of debris thrown out during the digging of a shaft from the summit under Gann’s direction some years ago. It is possible that this mound is referred to as Mound 9 at Noh Mul (Gann and Gann 1939). This shaft exposes a section of stucco-faced wall, running eastwest , with the exposed surface towards the center of the mound. From the edge of the wall to the outer edge of the mound is about 3 m; the top of the wall, about 3–3.5 m below the apex of the mound, is slightly convex. The stucco is now stained a deep lichenous 40.1. Dishes and bowls: (a) exterior, red slip with slightly darker vertical lines; interior, red slip; (b) exterior, interiors, and feet, red slip; (c) exterior of bowl slipped orange with orange-red lip; area within incised lines has slip unevenly applied; interior unslipped; the “pot stand” beneath has an orange-red slip; this is a single vessel; the bowl has no bottom, the pot stand supplying the only bottom (see Fig. 40.3f, g); (d) exterior, black and red on unslipped paste; below flange unclipped; interior, black on red; ring base (see Fig. 40.4a); (e) exterior to flange and interior, red and black on orange...

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