From the nature of the western mounds I found it advantageous to begin the work of excavation in the steep decline on the southern side, and to penetrate the mound on the level of its base or the rock formation which forms its foundation. In this way all the débris could advantageously be moved and thrown over the side of the mesa. We began to open the mounds, therefore, on the southern side, making converging trenches at intervals, working toward their center. We found that these trenches followed continuous walls connected by cross partitions, forming rooms, and that these were continued as far as we penetrated. The evidence is good that these rooms are followed by others which extend into the deepest part of the mound. We likewise excavated at intervals over the whole surface of the western area of Awatobi, and wherever we dug, walls of former rooms, which diminished in altitude on the northern side, were found. From these excavations I concluded that if any part of the western mound was higher than the remainder, it was on the southern side just above the edge of the mesa, and from that highest point the pueblo diminished in altitude to the north, in which direction it was continued for some distance in low, single-story rooms. ROOMS OF THE WESTERN MOUND The older or western portion of Awatobi is thus believed to be made up of a number of high mounds which rise steeply, and for a considerable height from the southern edge of the cliff, from which it slopes more gradually to the north and west. On account of this steep declivity we were able to examine, in vertical section, the arrangement of the rooms, one above the other (figure 256). By beginning excavations on the rocky foundation and working into the mound, parallel walls were encountered at intervals as far as we penetrated. From the edge of the cliff there seemed to extend a series of these parallel walls, which were united by cross partitions, forming a series of rooms, one back of another. The deeper we penetrated the mound the higher the walls were found to be, and this was true of the excavations along the whole southern side of the elevation (plate CIX). If, as I suspect, these parallel walls extend to the heart of the mounds, the greatest elevation of the former buildings must have been four stories. It would likewise seem probable that the town was more or less pyramidal, with the highest point somewhat back from the one- or two-story walls at the edge of the cliff, a style of architecture still preserved in Walpi. The loftiest wall, which was followed down to the floor, was 15 feet high, but as that was measured over 20 feet below the apex of the mound, it would seem that, from a distance, there would be a wall 30 feet high in the center of the mound. Even counting 7 feet as the height of each story we would have four stories above the foundation, and this, I believe, was the height of the old pueblo. But probably