This ruin (fig. 7), the largest in the canyon, is situated at the head
of the South Fork. Although many of its walls have fallen, there still
remains a semicircular great house (_B_, _C_, _D_) with high walls
conspicuous for some distance. The ruin is a pueblo of rectangular form
belonging to the pure type, showing circular depressions identified as
kivas (_K_), embedded in collections of square and rectangular rooms,
and massive walled buildings (_E_) on the south side.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.—Ground plan of Hovenweep House.]
The standing walls of the ruin are remains of a conspicuous D-shaped
tower (_B_, _C_, _D_), which is multichambered. Its straight wall
measures 23 feet, the curved wall 56 feet, and its highest wall, which
is on the northeast corner, is 15 feet high. At the northwest angle of
the ruin (A) there stand remains of high walls which indicate that
corner of a rectangular pueblo. Hovenweep House (pl. 14, _a_) was the
largest building in this canyon, but with the exception of the addition
of a semicircular tower or great house, does not differ greatly from
a pueblo like Far View House on the Mesa Verde. The piles of stone
and earth indicating rooms below justify the conjecture that when the
fallen débris is removed the unfallen walls will still rise several
feet above their rocky foundations. If properly excavated, Hovenweep
House would be an instructive building, but in its present condition,
while very picturesque, its structure is difficult to determine.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.—Ground plan of Hovenweep Castle.]