The formerly unnamed cliff-house shown in plate 8[37] is one of the
best preserved in Sand Canyon. It consists of an upper and a lower
house, the former situated far back in the cave, the latter on a
projecting terrace below. Unfortunately it is impossible to introduce
an extended description of this building as it was not entered by the
author’s party, but from a distance the walls exhibit fine masonry.
It is unique in having double buildings on different levels, an
arrangement not rare in a few examples of cliff-dwellings on the Mesa
Verde. As shown in plate 8, the character of the rock on which the
lower house stands is harder than that above in which the cave has been
eroded. The upper house is wholly protected by the roof[38] of the cave
and occupies its entire floor. The lower house shows from a distance at
least two rooms, the front wall of one having fallen.
[36] Sun Temple, however, is a seeming exception and follows the McElmo
rule of proximity; several large cliff-dwellings occur under the cliff
on which this mysterious building stands.
[37] Taken from a point across the canyon, the only one from which both
houses can be included in the same photograph.
[38] For a good example of cliff-houses at different levels, see
Cliff-Dwellings in Fewkes Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park, Holmes
Anniversary Volume.
From a distance the walls of both the lower and the upper house seem to
be well preserved, although many of the component stones have fallen to
the base of the cliff.