A third deposit was examined at _Eagle Hill_, in Ipswich,
Massachusetts, situated on the borders of a creek, by which easy access
is had to the sea-shore. The whole neighboring region consists of a
series of low hills of gravel, some of them covered with boulders,
but entirely destitute of forest trees. A few basswood trees (_Tilia
Americana_) have been known to exist there within a few years, but
otherwise those hills do not appear to have been wooded within the
memory or traditions of the present inhabitants. Several shell-heaps
are reported to exist in the neighborhood, but the only one examined
was on the easterly side of the hill mentioned above. This consists
of several disconnected deposits of shells, which are in part spread
out into a uniform layer, but in a few instances form small knolls
from eight to ten feet in diameter. Near the water’s edge the shells
are exposed by the washing away of the bank, but elsewhere are covered
with mould and turf, and, in some places, even on the knolls, with a
layer of gravel. In the more even portions, this last may have been
washed down from the slopes above, but such could not have been the
case with the knolls, for the tendency would have been to denudation
rather than to covering up. The shells, forming these deposits, are
almost exclusively those of the common clam, which are still found
here in great quantities, and yield a considerable revenue to those
engaged in digging them. Large piles of recently dug shells may be
seen along the neighboring shore, and noticeably contrast with those
from the Indian shell-heaps, in being thinner and less rough in their
texture. Shells of the oyster and the Mactra were found, but few in
number. Somewhat extensive excavations[7] yielded bones of the deer,
beaver, dog, birds, among these the bones of the turkey, and of fish;
but only a single implement of stone, which was spherical in shape,
with a groove around the middle of it. This was found by Mr. Putnam
just beneath the surface. Some of the bones showed distinct marks of
cutting instruments, and a few pieces of wrought bone were found, three
of which are represented in Pl. 15, figs. 15, 16, 17. Two distinct
fireplaces, indicated by hard-wood charcoal, ashes and blackened earth,
were discovered resting on the earth and beneath the shells.