One peculiarity of burial noticeable in this locality, and one which evidently indicates progression when we come to compare these people with those farther north, is the fact that the ancient race of Tennessee buried their dead in rude stone coffins or cists, constructed of flat pieces of limestone or slaty sandstone which abound in the central portions of the State. In most of the mounds this mode of burial prevailed, but was not confined to them, for outside of the mounds in many enclosures a large number of stone graves occur. Of the class of “Stone-grave Burial Mounds”, one situated twelve miles from Nashville, near Brentwood, is worthy of mention. This mound was about forty-five feet in diameter by twelve feet high, and contained one hundred skeletons. These were mostly in stone graves, which were constructed in ranges one above another, three or four deep. The lower graves were short and square, containing bones that had apparently been deposited after the flesh had been removed. The upper graves were full length and contained remains in which the bones occupied their natural relation to each other. The workmanship both of the mound and stone cists was of the most perfect character. The lids of the upper stone cists were so arranged as to present a perfectly rounded, sloping rock surface. The mound was situated on the eastern slope of a beautiful hill, covered with a heavy growth of the native forest. In a large and carefully constructed stone tomb, Prof. Jones discovered the skeleton of an aged individual of immense length, having toothless jaw bones. In a grave occupied by a skeleton of a female, a small compartment or stone box was found near the head, separated from the main coffin by stone slabs, in which was the skeleton of an infant. It should be added that in the square or short graves so often met with, the skull was placed in the centre and the other bones arranged around it.[44] Numerous stone graves not covered by mounds were found on the Cumberland River opposite the mouth of Lick Branch, surrounding a chain of four mounds. A similar graveyard was found on the same bank of the Cumberland, a mile and a half farther down. Others were met with on White Creek, nine miles from Nashville, at Sycamore in Cheatham County; at Brentwood, in White County near Sparta, and along the tributaries of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers at short intervals. At Oldtown on the Big Harpeth, is an extensive and remarkable collection of stone graves. All these burial grounds seem to be those of the people who constructed the mounds, for most of the mounds examined contained stone graves, not in their upper strata, but on the level of the surrounding land. A mound opposite Nashville, on the east bank of the Cumberland River, of great interest, was examined. Prof. Jones is convinced that it formerly served as the site or base of a temple. Its dimensions were one hundred feet in diameter by only ten feet high.