From the rooms of the acropolis there was a series of chambers, probably terraced, sloping to the modern gardens now occupying the old plaza, and the broken walls of these rooms still protrude from the surface in many places (plate CXVIII). When the excavations on the acropolis were begun, no traces of the biserial rows of rooms were detected, although the remains of the walls were traceable. The surface was strewn with fragments of pottery and other evidences of former occupancy. On leveling the ground and throwing off the surface stones, it was found that the narrow ridge which formed the top of the acropolis was occupied by a double line of well-built chambers which show every evidence of having been living rooms. The walls were constructed of squared stones set in adobe, with the inner surface neatly plastered. Many of the rooms communicated by means of passageways with adjacent chambers, some of them being provided with niches and shelves. The average height of the standing walls revealed by excavation, as indicated by the distance of the floor below the surface of the soil, was about 5 feet. [Illustration: FIG. 262--The acropolis of Sikyatki] The accompanying illustration (plate CXVIII) shows a ground plan of nine of these rooms, which, for purposes of reference, are lettered _a_ to _l_. A description of each, it is hoped, will give an idea of a typical room of Sikyatki. Room _a_ is rectangular in shape, 5 feet 3 inches by 6 feet 8 inches, and is 5 feet 8 inches deep. It has two depressions in the floor at the southeastern corner, and there is a small niche in the side wall above them. Some good specimens of mural plastering, much blackened by soot, are found on the eastern wall. Room _a_ has no passageway into room _b_, but it opens into the adjoining room _c_ by an opening in the wall 3 feet 4 inches wide, with a threshold 9 inches high. [Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXVIII PLAN OF EXCAVATED ROOMS ON THE ACROPOLIS OF SIKYATKI (Dimensions in feet and inches)] The shape of room _b_ is more irregular. It is 8 feet 1 inch long by 4 feet 5 inches wide, and the floor is 5 feet 2 inches below the surface. In one corner there is a raised triangular platform 2 feet 7 inches above the floor. A large cooking pot, blackened with soot, was found in one corner of this room, and near it was a circular depression in the floor 17 inches in diameter, evidently a fireplace. Room _c_ is smaller than either of the preceding, and is the only one with two passageways into adjoining chambers. Remains of wooden beams in a fair state of preservation were found on the floors of rooms _c_ and _b_, but they were not charred, as is so often the case, nor were there any ashes except in the supposed fireplace.