In 1922 one of the Late Basket Maker pit houses was excavated on the mesa
above Square Tower House. This structure is known as Earth Lodge A.
Although it once had a mud and pole roof almost as high as a man’s head,
nothing now remains but the underground part of the house. None of these
pit houses have ever been found that have not been burned, and only a few
pieces of charcoal remain as evidence of the former roof. The pit is 30
inches deep and 18 feet in diameter. In the center is a fire pit. In the
floor are also four holes, forming a large square, in which the roof
supports once stood. The walls of the pit were formerly plastered with a
thick layer of mud, but only a few patches of this remain. Around the
edge of the room, where the floor was low, were a number of small storage
bins made of thin stone slabs. No side entrance was located during
excavation. In some of the pit houses evidence has shown that entrance
was often made by means of a ladder through the smokehole in the roof.
This was a typical home of the Late Basket Makers who were living in this
region when the Pueblo Indians arrived about 700 A. D. These pit houses
passed out of existence as soon as the masonry wall was perfected.