PALISADES
May 2008
Excavated: April 9-17 and May 5-14, 2008
Image Taken: May 12, 2008
Backfilled: May 14, 2008
An arroyo at the Palisades site was actively eroding a number of rooms and a midden, or trash dump. Stabilization measures, such as constructing check dams in the arroyo, failed to stop the erosion. In 1999, an NPS archaeological crew dug a meter-wide test pit a few yards from the arroyo and found a masonry wall, indicating that other archaeological features would continue to be lost if excavations were not conducted.
The NPS/MNA crew relocated this wall, and followed it to learn what type of structure it was part of. They excavated a circular room with a hearth in the center and a ventilator shaft. Circular rooms sometimes serve as kivas. Such structures are used by modern Puebloan tribes such as the Hopi and Zuni for ceremonial purposes.
