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Annual Report of Excavations at
Wallace Great House 2023
Bruce Bradley and Cynthia Bradley
Primitive Tech. Enterprises, Inc.
Cortez, Colorado
February 2024
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Introduction
Excavations were undertaken at Wallace Ruin (5MT6970), Montezuma County, Colorado,
between May and November 2023, with Drs. Cynthia Bradley and Bruce Bradley as co-PIs. The
excavation crews consisted of volunteers, local and from as far away as New Hampshire and Texas.
Records included standardized excavation forms, numerous photographs and maps and a field journal
summarizing the work. Excavations were accomplished by the co-PIs and volunteers for a total of 321.5
person days.
Site Description
Wallace Ruin (5MT6970) consists of a small unit pueblo (Green Stone), a Chaco Great House
outlier, during the 11th and 12th centuries, and a possible reservoir. This was part of a larger community
including three other Great Houses (Haynie Ruin East, Haynie Ruin West and Ida Jean Ruin)
collectively known as the Lakeview Group. Wallace Ruin was listed on the Colorado State Register of
Historic Properties on March 12, 2002, and in the National Register of Historic Places on 24 March
2005.
History of Research
Research excavations and publications of results have been carried out intermittently between
1969 and 2023. Architectural units sharing walls erected to a multiple-story height are termed a
structure as are single-story rooms, kivas and pithouses; letters a, b, and c designate 1st-3rd story
rooms in multi-story structures, once determined. Excavations before 1998 involved five multi-story
11th century (Old Wallace) structures (2, 14,15, 24 and 25) and a double row of 12th Century (New
Wallace) two-story structures in the west wing, (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17,18, 19, 26 and 27). Also excavated
were an intrusive 13th century (Revitalized Wallace) Kiva 1, two added 13th century intramural Kivas 3
and 4, on the north side of New Wallace enclosed elevated Kiva 32. Additional excavations were
conducted between 2008 and 2010 in a 12th Century southern projection of the west arm (Annex,
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Structures 28, 29 and 30) of the building (Bradley 2010). Excavations in 2015 were undertaken in Annex
Room 33 (Bradley 2015). In 2018-2023 work was continued in Rooms 33, 53, 55, 59, 60, 62, 65, Kivas
56 and 32, Structures 66, 67, 68, 69, and in exterior units Nonstructure 77, Segment 1, and
Nonstructure 76 Segments 5, 6, 7 and 8 (Bradley 2010, 2015; Bradley, B. and C. Bradley 2019, 2020,
2023).
Two major and two minor construction phases were identified during this research: Old Wallace-
Phase 1 circa A.D. 1040 and Phase 2 circa A.D. 1090, and New Wallace- Phase 3a circa A. D. 1120
and Phase 3b circa A.D.1130. There seems to have been an abandonment of the great house in the
mid-1100s and then a ritual and mortuary reuse of the building (Revitalized Wallace) in the late 12th
and 13th centuries (Phase 4) primarily reusing existing structures, but with the addition of Rooms and
33 and 62 and Kiva 56.
In addition, information, materials and data from Wallace Ruin have been used in various
external studies resulting in publications, theses, and dissertations (eg. Bradley 2017; Sullivan 1983;
Shelley 1993; Logan and Cummings 2010, etc). Wallace data have also made a significant contribution
to Crow Canyon Archeological Center’s on-going Northern Chaco Outliers Project.
Research 2023
In 2023 we had two excavation sessions: one in May and one in October. Work was initiated in
Old Wallace Room 70 (Segment 2) and continued in Rooms 60b and 69 (Figure 1). New Wallace saw
excavations continue in Kiva 32 and Room 53. Subflooring in Room 53 encountered wall stubs that
look to be Type 3 and a tentative designation of Structure 72 has been assigned. Work continued in
Nonstructure 76, Segment 6 in the plaza, and subflooring in Room 70 Segment 2 has encountered
another feature cutting into what was at one time an extramural surface. This surface has been
assigned Nonstructure 76 Segment 10. In addition, a test unit was begun adjacent to the exterior of
New Wallace Room 26 to investigate a T-shaped doorway and activities that may have occurred around
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this portal, which served as an access during the (Revitalized Wallace) mortuary reuse of the room
suite (Rooms 18, 19, 26 and 27). This unit was designated Nonstructure 76 Segment 9.
Fig. 1: Wallace great house as of 22 February 2024.
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The site fared very well over the winter but there were two areas where further excavation would
produce potentially dangerous situations, specifically walls that were leaning (Room 60) or developing
cracks (Room 69). The alternatives were to abandon excavation, figure out how to stabilize them, or
remove the dangerous sections. In both cases it was decided to remove them. An advantage to this
approach is that quite a bit can be learned about the construction of the different types of walls. The
removed portions are described, illustrated, and discussed with the rooms.
Excavations Results
Old Wallace
Old Wallace refers to the initial great house building phase in the mid to late 1000s (Figure 2). It
comprises two construction episodes using slightly different masonry styles (see Bradley and Bradley
2020:11-12). Much of this building was later incorporated within New Wallace in the early 1100s,
Fig. 2: Old Wallace great house.
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drastically modifying some rooms and perhaps eliminating others. Our current knowledge indicates it
had 7 ground story rooms involving four 2-story structures (14,15, 55 and 70) and three 3-story
structures (24, 25 and 60) laid out in an L-shape during Phase 1. Phase 2 added at least one row of 2-
story structures (55 and 65). There may be additional rooms to the west under New Wallace Kiva 32
(Figure 3). This possibility will be investigated when we subfloor the kiva main chamber. There is
evidence, under the stairway (Structure 67), that the ground story of Phase 3 Room 19a, to the west,
was erected against fill, as were all the other walls of the stairway. This probably indicates that there
was a filled Old Wallace room in this space at the time of the construction of
Phase 3a. The excavated area east of Room 65 and north of Room 55
(designated Room 59) was also added. It is unclear if this was a room as
the east portion was modified by the addition of New Wallace Kiva 50.
Fig. 3: Estimate of Old Wallace rooms under Kiva 32.
Room 60
Excavations in Room 60 were continued with the leaning portion of the south wall removed for
safety reasons (Figure 4). Two additional strata (3 and 4), a fallen floor surface (1) and floor/roof
construction elements were identified. Stratum 1 (wall fall) has been completely removed while Strata
2 (wall fall) and 3 (natural and cultural deposits) continue, getting deeper toward the middle of the room.
Stratum 2 continues to be dominated by fallen masonry, including stones from Types 1/2, 3 and even
some Type 4. Stratum 4 is a thin layer of tan sandy sediment that rests on the fallen second story floor
surface, which angles steeply down toward the center of the room (Figure 5).
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In the west central area, in
Stratum 2, a scatter of burned
stones and charring may either have
been a feature that fell in from an
upper story, or, it may have been a
thermal feature that was dumped
into the partly collapsed room. This
possible thermal feature remnant as
well as the rest of Strata 2 and 3
contained a large number of
artifacts, including ground stone Fig. 5: Room 60 fallen second story floor.
Fig. 4: Room 60 section of leaning south wall.
(manos, metates, handstones, axes, mauls), flaked stone (debitage, cores and projectile points),
abundant animal bones and bone tools, and large numbers of sherds, dominated by Mesa Verde B/W
(Figure 6) Mesa Verde Corrugated, Mancos B/W and Mancos Corrugated, with other types in lesser
Fig. 6: Room 60 Mesa Verde B/W
proportions. The presence of Mesa
Verde B/W and Type 4 building stones
attests to the use of the upper portions
of this room, and/or adjacent structures
during the late twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. It may have been a refuse
area related to the use of adjacent Kiva 56, as was the case for Room 62 on its southern side.
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Stratum 4 looks to have been deposited on the floor of the second story before it collapsed. This
could have been an intentional layer covering the floor or naturally deposited sediment after use of the
room ceased. This will be explored further as excavations continue.
The floor, Surface 1 is the top of a layer of light gray daub that sealed a layer of peeled sticks
(Figure 7) which served as a sealant for the underlying secondary beams. The sticks are parallel to
the long axis and primary beam (east-west). The secondary beams are perpendicular and occur in
sets of three. Only the ends of the beams have been exposed (Figure 8).
Fig. 7: Room 60 second story floor construction of peeled sticks.
The collapse of the upper story into the ground story indicates that the lower room was at least
partially empty when the door in the south wall was sealed (Figure 9). This contrasts with the adjacent
Old Wallace rooms (25 and 65) which had been filled in, probably during New Wallace construction,
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since the fills didn’t include any PIII pottery. In a sense, this ground story room would have been a
‘sealed chamber’ throughout the New Wallace and Revitalized Wallace uses of the site.
Fig. 8: Room 60 Second story floor, secondary beams.
Fig. 9: Room 60 south wall exterior.
Room 69
Progress was also made in Old Wallace (?) Room 69. The chronological designation of this room
may be reassigned as the south wall seems to be of a later time period. First on the agenda was
dealing with the east wall which had started to develop some cracks, making it unsafe to work near.
Stabilization was considered but
rejected as too complicated. Instead,
the upper portion of the wall was
removed (Figure 10). This had the
benefit of exposing the
Fig. 10: Room 69 east walls. Left: Upper collapsing portion; Right: Lower wall.
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junction of this Type 3/4 wall and the Type 2 south wall of room 55 (Figure 11).
Fig.11: Upper east wall built around leaning Old Wallace Room 55 south wall (red dots indicate south
wall of Room 55): a) upper wall looking northeast; b) east face of upper wall looking down; c) top of
upper wall looking down north; d) top of leaning Room 55 south wall; e) leaning south wall of Room 55;
f) lower east wall of Room 69.
This exposure clearly shows that the east wall of Room 69 was added after the south wall of
Room 55 had leaned significantly outward. This has implications concerning the collapse and
construction sequences throughout the central area of the great house. This post- Phase 2 collapse
affected north-south oriented walls all the way back to the Old Wallace east wall of Room 65, resulting
in adjustments in subsequent construction, especially during the remodeling of the area for the
construction of Kiva 56 (Bradley and Bradley 2019:8-9).
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The west wall of Room 69 looks to have originally been Type 3, possibly Type 3b, however there
is clear evidence that the upper portion (Type 4) was rebuilt after the subsidence or collapse of the
south wall. This is exhibited by the downward slope of the lower, southern section of the wall and the
interfingering with the upper, horizontal northern portion (Figure 12). The wall was built on fill that
continues north from Room 69, indicating it was constructed after the space was enclosed and filled.
It may be that the wall was part of the Annex (Rooms 28-30 and unexcavated Kiva 31).
Fig. 12: West wall of Room 69, which was west wall of Room 62. Red line indicates post wall
slumping repair during Phase 4 (Revitalized Wallace).
More of the north wall has been exposed revealing the upper portions of two plugged doorways
(Figure 13). This is the exterior face of either a Type 1 or Type 2 wall. It may have been the south face
of the Old Wallace great house with doors opening from an external plaza. The wall face was extremely
well-finished with a fine veneer and then plastered. The east door (to the right) would have opened
into the west end of Room 55 and the west door into the east end of Room 70. The west door is
plugged with the same masonry as the wall (Figure 14), indicating it probably occurred before New
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Fig. 13: North wall of Room 69, which was the exterior of the south walls of Old Wallace
Rooms 55 and 70.
Wallace construction, i.e., before about AD 1120. However, the east door shows two different
renovation events, both with masonry that seems later, perhaps when the south wall of the room was
added. The first modification narrowed the opening and the second reduced the height. The width of
the original construction is such that it could be the upper portion of a T-shaped doorway. The initial
remodeling may have altered the door to be rectangular, with the final modification reducing the opening
to window-size.
The plugging of the west doorway has implications as to how and when Rooms 70 and 65 (to
the north) were intentionally filled with deconstruction rubble. It is difficult to see how this could have
been accomplished through this doorway as the fills extend to a higher elevation. Since no remnants
of second story ceilings/roofs were found in either room, it is likely that filling occurred from above after
the ceiling/roofs had been removed. It is also difficult to determine when and why the rooms were filled.
Room 65 intentional fill was found up to the floor level of Revitalized Wallace Kiva 56, but it could also
originally have filled the second story, which was later removed by the kiva. However, the intentional
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fill in Room 70 only went up to what was probably the floor level of a New Wallace room that was mostly
removed by the construction of Kiva 56. It’s all very confusing.
Nevertheless, the east doorway in Room 69 accessed Room 55, the ground story of which
seems not to have been completely filled during New Wallace use, and possibly was still accessible.
Fill in the upper portion of the east area of Room 55 (Segment 1) did not contain any PIII pottery and
the east wall of Revitalized Wallace Room 62, which removed the north wall of the Phase 3 room, was
built up against this fill. Since excavations still need to be completed in Room 55, perhaps they will
clarify the construction, use, abandonment and reuse of this area.
The south wall of Room 69 is very irregular and not clearly exposed, because of its partial
collapse outward to the south. It is also possible that it had an irregular face when it was built. Based
on its position and its relationship to the east and west walls, it seems to have been constructed as part
of New Wallace Phase 3.
So far, all the sediments in Room 69 look to have been intentionally deposited. Like Old Wallace
Rooms 24, 25, 65 and 70, the deposits include chunks of unimpressed daub. However, there are also
pockets of charred and partly oxidized sediments. Some of these may have been in-place burning
episodes while others look to be ash dumps (Figure 14). There are large numbers of sherds in the fill
units, mainly Mancos Corrugated and
B/W and a portion of a grayware
(Mummy Lake Gray?) jar. There are
also a number of San Juan redware
sherds and parts of at least two Wingate
Black-on-red bowl (Figure 15).
Fig.14: Room 69 ash dump.
Fig. 15: Room 69 White Mountain Redware sherds.
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Room 70
In 2022 the area below the south end of Revitalized Wallace Kiva 56 was partly investigated
revealing the northwest corner of Room 55, Segment 2) and the northeast corner of Room 70, Segment
2 (Figure 16). This year this area of Room 70 was cleared to the floor and subflooring was initiated
(Nonstructure 76 Segment 10). Room 70 Segment 2 is
an irregularly shaped area roughly 2 meters long east-
west and a maximum of 1.5 meters north-south. In the
top 2 strata it is bounded on the north by the Phase 3
wall that had been mostly removed during the building of
Kiva 56. Below the base of this wall remnant is a fill
profile, retained to hold up the wall (Figure 17). The east
portion of the north side of the segment is a portion of
the exterior south wall of Room 65a (Figure 18).
Fig. 16: Room 70 Segment 2.
The west side of the segment is also
bounded by a remnant of the same wall, but
below and behind this is a remnant of the
exterior face of the Kiva 32 enclosing wall,
extending down another 63 cm (Figure 19).
The west wall of Room 70 has not been
encountered and may have been removed by
the construction of Kiva 32. Fig. 17: Room 70 Segment 2, upper north wall.
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The south boundary is topped by the south wall of Revitalized Wallace Phase 4 Kiva 56 (Figure 20).
This wall seems to have been built on a floor surface of a Phase 3 room (not numbered) that later
served as the floor of Kiva 56.
The sequence of fills and surfaces is very
confusing because of the various rebuilding episodes.
The Phase 3 room fill had been removed except for
the small amount that remained under the floor of
Kiva 56 south of Room 65. This wasn’t determined
until it was removed and rather than assign a room
number, Strata 1 and 2 of Room 70 Segment 2
represent the fill of that mostly removed room (during
Phase 4 construction of Kiva 56).
Fig. 18: Room 70 Segment 2 north wall
(exterior face of Room 65a south wall).
A wall separates Room 70 from Room 55. This
wall is unusual in that it is single stone in width, but it is at
best irregularly coursed, includes unshaped chunky
stones rather than shaped slabs, and its face is also
irregular, lacking any veneer (Figure 21). It is a poorly
made wall in comparison to all the other walls in Old
Wallace. This doesn’t conform to either Type 1 or 2 Fig. 19: Room 70 west walls and profile.
masonry. It abuts the wall to the north, which was the exterior of the south wall of Room 65a.
Nevertheless, it was built on a thin footer that was dug into an extramural feature (Figure 22), which
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has yet to be exposed. This seems to be a partition wall subdividing a very large room into two
rooms; 55 and 70. Generally, both masonry Types 1 and 2 have very neat and well-finished/veneered
faces on the exterior but more irregular
faces on the interior. Perhaps because
this wall has only interior faces, with no
externally visible faces, it wasn’t deemed
necessary to carefully finish either face.
While irregular, it seems to have been
sturdy enough to serve as a partitioning
wall.
Fig. 20: Room 70 Segment 2 south wall of Kiva 56 on room fill.
Fig. 21. Room 70 Segment 2 east wall. Fig. 22: Room 70 Segment 2 east wall footer.
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The fill in Room 70 Segment 2 was a series of intentional deposits of deconstruction debris
(Figure 23). Some of these units were topped by a use-compacted surface, indicating that filling had
ceased, and the top of the unit was
being walked on. All strata consisted
of various proportions of silty loam,
daub chunks (some tan some gray),
charcoal flecks sparse artifacts and
pieces of sandstone (including some
building block sizes) (Figure 24).
Different strata had stone ranges of
different sizes. The daub chunks
ranged from small and flat to some
which were large and chunky. Very
few in any level exhibited
impressions of roofing materials,
Fig. 23: Room 70 Segment 2 west profile.
Fig. 24: Room 70 Segment 2 stones in stratum 4 (left) and 5 (right).
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although a few had impressions of sticks (see roofing description in Room 60). The origin of the daub
is difficult to interpret but much of it was probably wall mortar. The inclusion of stones in the strata
supports this observation.
All fill units below Surface 1 contained pottery from Pueblo II times, dominated by Mancos
Corrugated and Mancos B/W. The floor of the room had a few associated artifacts (Table 1), with
Mancos Corrugated and B/W sherd clusters. There was also a Deadman’s B/R bowl sherd in floor
Table 1. Room 70 Segment 2 artifacts in floor contact.
contact (Figure 25). These artifacts were concentrated along the east wall with little toward the center
of the room. None indicated a clear activity location. It was clear that the lower story of Room 70 had
been intentionally filled, primarily with
deconstruction rubble. This was very similar
to the fill of the ground story of Room 65,
although also slightly different. While Room
65 seemed to have been filled during one or
two major efforts, Room 70 looks to have
undergone multiple filling events. The
intentional filling of the ground story of many
Old Wallace rooms was likely done to
prepare for the construction of New Wallace.
Fig. 25: Room 70 Segment 2 floor artifacts.
PL#
Item(s)
Elevation
1
sherd cluster
1895.46
2
Deadmans B/r sherd
1897.47
3
sherd cluster
1895.46
4
animal bone
1895.46
5
animal bone fragments
1895.49
6
flake
1895.49
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New Wallace
Kiva 32
By far the greatest number of person hours was spent on Kiva 32, including its southeast
corner room. This was both because of the large area and the large number of beams that were
encountered in the main chamber. This involved not only careful exposure but also mapping and
tree-ring sampling. We nearly completed removal of Stratum 4, which included a stone feature
(Bradley and Bradley 2023:13-14 and Figure 20), the majority of beams, and numerous artifacts,
many of which were individually mapped. By the end of the Fall session, we had encountered areas
of floor, a subfloor ventilator, a central hearth, a post hole, and indications of east and west floor
vaults. However, the floor surface is irregular due to structure subsidence, possibly because the kiva
was built on fill of Old Wallace rooms. This has yet to be confirmed.
Beams and tree-ring samples
Many beams were encountered in
Stratum 4 in the main chamber (Figure 26).
Some were rotted, some were partly rotted
and partly charred (Figure 27), and a few
were charcoal throughout. Tree- ring
samples were taken (Figure 28) from those
that looked like they might yield a date.
Generally, the beams that were high, near
the walls, were unburned or only slightly
charred and angled down toward the middle
Fig. 26: Kiva 32 roof beams.
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of the main chamber or parallel with the wall (Figure 29).
The small, rotted pieces were not mapped. Beams were
found throughout the main chamber, being sparse in the
northeast with a concentration in the southwest.
Preservation in the northeast was generally poorer than the
rest of the main chamber due to its overall greater
subsidence that concentrated moisture. While the beams
form a pattern, it is not clear exactly how they Fig. 27: Kiva 32 charred roof beams.
represent the superstructure as it was at kiva abandonment. There is a semblance of cribbing but this
is not obvious. On
the other hand, it
doesn’t look like a
four-post pattern. It
is also unclear how
the roof was
supported as there
are no pilasters.
Fig. 28: Louis Chavez collecting a tree-ring sample. Fig. 29: Kiva 32 rotted beams above bench.
. One post hole with the rotted remnant of a post is present on the east side. Since the floor hasn’t
been completely exposed, it is possible that more posts will be encountered which may indicate how
the roof was supported.
Numerous artifacts were found in Stratum 4, including many intact stone tools, primarily manos,
metates and peckingstones (Figure 30). Most were plotted to see if any specific activity areas could
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be identified, even if they were originally on the roof. More may be recovered when the remainder of
Stratum 4 is removed.
Fig. 30: Kiva 32 artifacts in roof fall layer.
We noted that the existing bench is only about 30 cm high, which is very low for this size Chaco-
style kiva. The average height is between 80 cm and 85 cm in Chaco great houses. The lack of pilasters
is also unusual. We had noticed an irregularity in the upper lining wall masonry. At about 40-45 cm
above the current surface is where the upper lining wall masonry changes from having a slightly
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irregular face to fine, even coursing and facing (Figure 31). This is about where the bench surface was
expected. It looks like an upper portion of the bench had been removed, which also would have
removed any pilasters. The roof would also have had to be removed, assuming it rested on pilasters.
This may have been a Revitalized Wallace modification. Again, we need to complete the excavation
before we come to any specific conclusions. We need to figure out the roofing and its date(s) of
construction/renovation.
Fig. 31: Kiva 32 the probable original bench height (yellow line).
Room 53
Room 53 is a Construction Phase 3 multi-story structure situated on the southwest corner of the
east arm of the Wallace Great House room block. Its west wall borders the great house plaza. As in
previous years (2019-2022) research in 2023 continued to focus upon the removal of room fill, finding
evidence of construction materials and techniques, the location of architectural features, and obtaining
artifact evidence of chronology and room use. These excavations involved the removal of about 20 cm
of fill throughout most of the room, from an upper real excavation (RE) of 1895.39 to elevations close
to 1895.20 (Figure 32). However, the exposure of footer stones along the south wall and the location
of sterile sediments required the removal of an additional 50 cm or so of fill within a 60 cm band, to a
base elevation averaging (RE) 1894.65 meters. A new goal involved the excavation of the subfloor
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space, which led to the discovery of the remains of an earlier Phase 3 structure (Room 72); preliminary
findings are presented below.
Fig.32: Stratigraphic profile of Room 53 and Room 72 as of October 31, 2023.
Surface 3
To locate any remaining vestiges of the original Pueblo II floor (PD 787) within the south end of
Room 53, work commenced with the removal of a thin layer of Stratum 9 fill situated within a 30-to-50-
centimeter band along the south wall and the south third of the east wall. The results confirm that,
originally, Surface 3 extended across the room even though presently large gaps exist within the central
floorspace. Surface 3 is generally horizontal, with real elevations in the north and south ends of the
room ranging from 1895.34 to 1895.39. As is evident in Figure 2, this thin, nebulous surface is only
readily discernible in scattered patches.
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As in 2022 excavations, no ashy or charcoal inclusions were found above, on, or within Surface
3. All point-located (PL) artifacts documented in Figure 33 were located in 2022. No artifacts that are
clearly associated with Surface 3 were found in 2023.
Figure 33. Room 53, Surface 3 plan documenting vestigial patches of the original Pueblo II floor,
along with point locations of associated artifacts.
Surface 4
Surface 4 is incompletely excavated, so observations are incomplete, and interpretations are
provisional. As it now stands, rather than being a thin layer, Surface 4 (PD 814) is a thick 5-8 cm
accumulation of chinking stone piles, individual chinking stones, chinking stone fragments of varying
sizes, somewhat larger but thin sandstone slabs, scattered globs and wall drips of adobe mortar, and
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the very occasional artifact. Along Room 53’s south wall, its upper elevation of ~1895.30 is at the
boundary between coursed masonry and underlying footer stones. Despite its thickness, Surface 4
seemingly represents a construction zone use surface which was stood upon during the erection and
chinking of the interior face of Room 53’s wall stones, thus gradually increasing in thickness over time.
This zone extends some half meter from the south wall, and similarly from the north wall, but its
horizontal dimensions are to be determined. This stratigraphic unit also contains small gravelly
inclusions which are evidently not associated with wall construction; they are not present in adobe
mortar “drips” or within coursed stonework mortar. These inclusions will require further investigation as
they are unique to Wallace Great House deposits to date. The pile of stones in the southeast corner of
the room seemingly represents discarded stones that were not used for wall construction. Figure 34
documents this pile, with half of the stones removed, which overlies numerous Surface 4 chinking
stones and small areas of adobe mortar “drips”.
Fig. 34: Southeast corner of Room 53, Surface 4. Informal pile of unused wall stones resting upon a
thick layer of irregularly oriented chinking stones; west half of pile removed.
Architecture
Coursed masonry
Currently, only the south wall is completely revealed, apart from a 30 cm section at its west end
(balk). As can be seen in Figure 35, the Construction Phase 3 masonry style is essentially homogenous
from the top to bottom of the coursed stonework, although chinking and mortar are heavily eroded
within the upper half of the wall. This wall is in generally good condition, though the upper half tilts
several centimeters southward. The irregular feature in the upper half of the wall is Feature 5;
descriptions of this Other Wall Opening (OWO) are provided in the 2021 Annual Report. Including
footers, the maximum standing wall height is some 2.45 meters. However, where coursed masonry
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ends and footers begin is not evident since two layers of large, irregular stones that underly typical
Phase 3 tabular stones could be classed either as coursed stones or as footers. If the former, then the
maximum standing height of the coursed wall is 2.28 meters, versus 2.18 meters when these irregular
stones are classed as footers.
Fig. 35: The completely exposed south wall of Room 53, showing coursed masonry, footer
(foundation) stones, and OWO Feature 5. The horizontal arrow rests upon sterile soil. On the right
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side of the photograph, Room 72’s west wall is perpendicular to the south wall, and it is incorporated
into Room 53 footers.
Footer stones
The footer stones that underly the south wall are irregular in shape, varying in size from quite
small to large (Figure 36). No trench outline was observed in the adjacent strata, although the chances
are still good that these stones were placed into a trench cut into sterile ground rather than upon an
existing surface. Complicating matters, the builders packed adjacent sterile Ramper soil (good clay
content) into the footers rather than using a more pure clay, as was observed on the outer face of the
great house’s west wall footers (Nonstructure 77, Seg. 1). Whether the large, irregular stones below
typical Phase 3 tabular stones are classified as coursing masonry or footers is largely immaterial.
However, if they are construed as coursing, then the footer height of about 37 cm is shallow compared
to other Wallace Ruin footers. On the other hand, if they are grouped with footer stones, then the footer
height of roughly 50 cm is essentially equivalent.
Fig. 36: Close-up photograph of the Room 53’s south wall footer stones, east half. Note the variation
in stone size and the tied join of the south and east wall footers at the base of the wall. The
alignments of ambiguous coursing/footer stones are bracketed.
Corners
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Both the southeast and southwest corners of Room 53 evidence mixed joining techniques, with
short sections of tied sections alternating with somewhat longer sections of abutting stones. The joins
of the southeast corner are more readily observable owing to the more pronounced southward tilt of
the south wall’s upper coursing. In Figure 37, a short section of tied stones overlies a short section of
abutted wall stones.
Fig.37: Close-up photograph of a) tied and b) abutted wall
joins within the southeast corner of Room 53.
Interpretations
All strata associated with the use of Room 53 were
removed by the conclusion of 2023 excavation research. As
noted above, Surface 4 is an ad hoc use surface related to
building construction. Unlike South Suite rooms within the
WGH West Arm, Room 53 lacks a sequence of floors and use
surfaces which point to a room’s heavy and continuous use
through time. Moreover, although a few small sections of
Surface 4 are still to be excavated, there is still no evidence
of either formal or informal thermal features within Room 53’s lower strata. Altogether, the evidence
from 2023 confirms that Room 53 was very lightly used, with no evidence that it was ever intended for
residential use. Subfloor excavation is limited as yet, with only a 60 cm wide trench along the south
wall. The most notable finding from 2023 pertains to the discovery of the remains of Room 72 within
Room 53’s subfloor space.
Structure 72
All evidence from Structure 72 lies within the subfloor space of Room 53. Although an earlier
timeframe would have been expected, the tabular sandstone masonry in Room 72’s stub wall
represents a Construction Phase 3 rectangular room (Figure 38) that dates to the early 1100s AD.
Considering that Room 72 was not located until the last week of the 2023 excavation, the information
presented here entails very preliminary findings.
Stratigraphy
Stratum 1 Excavation into the subfloor region of Room 53 commenced with the removal of what
was initially deemed Stratum 10 but is now identified as Stratum 1 of Room 72. This is a natural fill unit
some 10 cm in depth, comprised of wind-blown sediments permeated with small to medium-sized bits
of charcoal. Rather than structure fill, these characteristics, along with the absence of sandstone
29
fragments, adobe chunks, and artifacts of any type pointed to down-wind natural and cultural
accumulations from outdoor firepits, etc. prior to the erection of the east arm of the great house.
However, while this may yet be the case, this stratum is now considered to be associated with Structure
72 since its base elevation of ~1895.20 (RE) is below the level of Room 72’s Surface 1. How this
stratum relates to Room 72’s Surface 1 and possible Surface 2 in other parts of the area bounded by
Room 53 walls is to be determined.
Surface 1
Two small areas of solid albeit thin packed adobe are adjacent to the east side of Room 72’s
north-south stub wall, and another patch is present along upper footer stones of Room 53’s north wall.
At this point, it is unknown if Surface 1 was
built against these masonry walls or if both
walls intruded into a pre-existing surface. For
the time being, a large use surface on the
east side of the Room 53 floor space is also
identified as Surface 1. To date, no artifacts
are associated with Surface 1.
Fig. 38: Incompletely excavated
Room 72, within the subfloor space of Room
53, showing its north-south stub wall on the
left, possible cross wall remnants at the north
and south ends of the stub wall, two pit
features, and outlined sections of prepared
floor (red) and a use surface (blue).
Architecture
Walls
Referring again to Figure 1, the
removal of Surface 4 (construction zone)
materials in the northwest corner of Room
53, so at the approximate upper elevation of
the west wall’s footer stones, revealed a
double row of several large, rectangular Phase 3 wall stones in a north-south alignment positioned
some 20 to 50 cm from Room 53’s west wall. Further removal of Surface 4 materials showed that this
alignment extends along the length of the west wall. Excavation of the south end down to sterile
30
sediments demonstrates that this is a stub wall no more than two stones high. Adobe mortar is present
between most wall stones, and in several cases, thick layers of adobe overlay their exposed surfaces.
At the north and south ends of this stub wall, horizontal stones that bridge the gap between this
alignment and Room 53’s west wall may represent the remains
of two cross walls. Figure 39 provides a close-up view of the
probable cross wall configuration in the north end of the stub
wall. This photograph also shows that the north-south stub wall
extends under the north wall of Room 53. However, the south
end of the alignment terminates at the south wall of Room 53,
where one Room 72 stone is incorporated within the footer
stones of Room 53’s south wall (Fig. 40).
Fig. 39: The north end of Room 72’s N-S stub wall, where
two of its stones (red) extend beneath the north wall of Room 53.
Fig. 40: The south end of Room 72’s N-S two-stone high
stub wall, where one Room 72 stone was used as a
footer stone for Room 53’s south wall.
Features
Two unexcavated pits are classed as Room 72
features. The outlines of both pits are visible in Figure 1,
though the east half of Feature 1 retains a large balk.
The relationship of these pits to Room 72 and their
classifications will be confirmed in 2024 excavation research. Feature 1 is the larger of two pits
located east of the Room 72 stub wall, so within the central subfloor space of Room 53.
Excavation along Feature 1’s west rim indicates that this pit’s surface is continuous with Surface
1. It is thus associated with Surface 1 of Room 72 rather than being an intrusive pit instead
associated with Room 53. A few corrugated body sherds rest upon the west side of the pit’s
surface. Feature 2 is the smaller pit situated some 10 cm north of Feature 1. Its rim shows
evidence of heat exposure so it may well be a fire pit. The contents of Feature 2 are unexcavated.
Artifacts The only Room 72 artifacts consist of the corrugated body sherds found within Feature
1. Interpretations The architectural evidence is central to the determination that at least part of
Room 72’s remains involve a Phase 3 rectangular masonry room. Currently, the stratigraphic
evidence indicates that scant fill is present between the Surface 4 construction zone of Room
53 and Surface 1 of Room 72, suggesting a rather narrow timeframe between the construction
31
of this wall and the erection of Room 53. Given the mortar evidence that Room 72’s stub wall
was higher at one point, the chances are that other Room 72 wall stones were removed to build
Room 53, or another Phase 3 room. To date, no vestiges of masonry walls extend eastward. On
the other hand, the short sections of cross walls at the north and south ends of the stub wall may
indicate that the bulk of Room 72 extended westward, so under the west wall of Room 53. This
should be clarified in 2024, when the area between the stub wall of 72 and Room 53’s footer
zone is excavated. However, it is not yet understood whether the discovered surfaces and pits
east of the stub wall are in fact related to Room 72 or if they are rather associated with yet
another pre-existing structure, or even an exterior area such as a ramada. Hopefully, this also
will be ascertained in 2024, with an expectation being that the entire Room 53/Room 72 subfloor
area will be excavated to sterile ground.
Nonstructure 76 Segment 9
Nonstructure 76 is the area south of Old Wallace, which eventually became an enclosed plaza.
A significant portion of this was later covered by architecture and we only have glimpses of it when we
subfloor the overlying rooms. Each of these exposures is assigned a segment number as they are
excavated. In addition, two segments (6 and 9) of Nonstructure 76, outside of any evident structure
are also being investigated (Figure 41). Segment 6 is an arbitrary unit placed south of the great
Fig. 41: Location of Nonstructure 76 Segments 5-10 (blue). Room numbers in red.
house in a central east-west location to define plaza surfaces and any architecture and features that
are located in the area (Bradley and Bradley 2023). Segment 9 is being excavated primarily to
expose the exterior wall and doorway in the south wall of Room 26. Inside the room the central
portion of the wall collapsed, retaining only a portion of a possible T-shaped doorway that may have
32
been plugged. This would have allowed access into the southwestern suite of the Phase 3 Late
Pueblo II structure, possibly used in the early 13th Century for the mortuary activities found in the suite
(C. Bradley 2017). We felt that there were just enough doubts about the construction and subsequent
uses of the doorway that investigating it from the exterior was warranted. We also want to see if
there is any evidence of activities outside the doorway.
We started excavations (Figure 42) and after clearing some historic back fill we encountered
the expected wall-fall unit consisting of Phase 3 building blocks (Figure 43) with very few artifacts.
Fig. 42: NST 76 Seg 9 before excavation. Fig. 43: NST 76 Seg 9 wall fall.
Below the wall fall was a layer of mixed naturally and culturally deposited sediment. Within this
sediment was a pile of building blocks that look to have been placed rather than originating from
structure collapse (Figure 44). This pile was concentrated in front of the doorway resting on a
distinctive use surface. The adjacent opening in the wall contained a jumble of fallen building stones
in the upper portion, indicating that it was empty when the wall collapsed. However, the lower portion
still retains what looks like irregular intentional plugging. The pile of
stones may represent plugging that had been intentionally pulled out
of the opening and then not cleared away nor reused to plug the
opening. In other words, the upper part of the opening would have
allowed access to Room 26. This may well have been the route
Fig. 44: NST 76 Seg 9 pile of stones in front of doorway.
used for the canine disturbance of the deposited human remains (C.
Bradley 2017). Mesa Verde B/w and Mesa Verde corrugated sherds
were recovered from all the deposits and on the use surface,
indicating that they were associated with the Phase 4 reuse of the
great house after AD 1180. Also, on a use surface, under the pile of stones, was a burn spot of dark
33
gray ash with well-defined boundaries. This turned out to be directly on top of a slab metate set into a
use surface, with the grinding face at the use surface level (Figure 45). It was in a position that would
not have been convenient for grinding corn. The metate seems to have been intentionally and
carefully placed as the base for fires. The thickness of the
ash indicates that more than
Fig. 45: NST 76 Seg 9 metate set into use surface.
one fire, or a sustained fire produced it. Its location adjacent
to the wall opening suggests that this may have been a
feature associated with egress and/or exit through the
opening associated with the interior mortuary context.
Below the use surface is a thick layer of ash, charcoal and
building stones that has yet to
be totally excavated (Figure
46). It contains numerous
artifacts with a mix of PII and PIII pottery, including Mesa Verde B/W. It
seems to represent secondary refuse but must have been deposited
during the post A.D. 1180 use of the area.
Fig.46: NST 76 Seg 9 heavily burned stratum with stones.
Enough of the wall has been exposed to see that there was a T-
shaped doorway and it had been plugged, including with Type 4
stones, indicating it was during Revitalized Wallace times (Figure 47).
Fig. 47: Evidence of plugged doorway. Left is south wall of Room 26 and right is north wall of NST 76
Seg 9. Red indicates doorway edges, yellow highlight is recently piled stones, blue highlight is
doorway plugging.
34
Nonstructure 76 Segment 10
This small area lies directly below the floor of Room 70 Segment 2. It has only been minimally
tested but there are indications of a large subsurface feature of some sort that includes some in-place
burning. This feature extends under the east wall into the space of Room 55 Segment 2, which is
planned to be completed in 2024. At that time Segment 10 will be further investigated.
Backfilling and Stabilization
Where to put spoil dirt and stones and whether or not to erect retaining walls are always complex
issues. Backfilling excavation units has been a standard procedure from the very early days of
excavation at Wallace great house. However, the volume of spoil always exceeds the volume of the
excavated areas. This year has been no exception. A large number of stones and sediment have been
removed from Kiva 32 as well as Room 70 Segment 2 and Room 60. The majority of this has been
deposited in Rooms 59 and 65. To contain this large quantity of spoil, a stone retaining wall and a wood
and Propanel barrier had to be constructed (Figure 48).
Fig. 48: Dry masonry retaining wall
and wood and propanel barrier built
to retain spoil in Rooms 59
Segment 1 and 65.
Most of the spoil from NST 76
Segment 9 was put on top of the
previously filled rooms 27 and 26,
The other main area of
excavation was Room 69. The fill
from it was mostly deposited in Structures 67 and 6, the stairwell and adjacent room space, but some
was also used to finish filling Roo 33. Two additional spaces were used to deposit small amounts of
35
back dirt: south of NST 76 Segment 9 and south of Room 33. These are intended to be temporary
areas as both study units will probably be back filled in 2024.
Winterizing
All of the open excavation areas were covered either by roofing or draping with the exception
of the center of Kiva 32 (Figure 49). This was left open specifically so that it would get moisture.
Fig. 49: Winterizing: a) Kiva 32; b) Rooms 55 Segment 2 and &0 Segment 2; c) Room 60; d) Room 53.
36
Acknowledgements
As has been the case since we first started work at the Wallace great house, all excavations,
recording and a substantial amount of lab work have been accomplished by volunteers. Before 2017
most of the work has been sporadic and generally not as planned sessions. Since then, sessions have
been planned to accommodate organized groups, some of which come from long distances (eg. Texas
and New Hampshire). Many of these volunteers and our loyal ‘locals’ have extensive excavation and/or
lab experience, not to mention high enthusiasm and a well-developed work ethic. Special thanks go to
those who organize the groups. Mary Gallagher continues to do an excellent copy-edit of our reports.
For everybody’s contributions, intellectual and practical, we are extremely grateful. THANK YOU ALL!
References
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2010 Excavations at Wallace Ruin (5MT6970) Montezuma County, Colorado, 1998-2010.
2015 Annual Report of Excavations at Wallace Ruin (5MT6970). Primitive Tech Enterprises,
Inc., Cortez, Colorado
Bradley, Bruce A. and Cynthia S. Bradley
2019 Annual Report on Excavations at the Wallace Great House (5MT6970) 2019. Primitive
Tech Enterprises, Inc., Cortez, Colorado. ttps://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.14850.35523
2020 Annual Report on Excavations at the Wallace Great House (5MT6970) 2020. Primitive
37
Tech Enterprises, Inc., Cortez, Colorado. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.18947.12329
2023 Annual Report of Excavations at Wallace Great House 2021. Primitive Tech
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Bradley, Cynthia S.
2017 Remaking the Mazeway: Skeletal and archaeological evidence for a variant
Ancestral Pueblo mortuary rite at Wallace Ruin (USA), Volume 1. PhD Dissertation,
University of Exeter, UK. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30555.18720
Logan, M. K. and L. S. Cummings
2010 Organic Residue (FTIR) Analysis 0f an Effigy Vessel from the Wallace Site, Montezuma
County, Colorado. Paleo Research Institute Technical Report 09-118. Paleo Research
Institute, Golden, Colorado.
Sullivan, Mary
1983 Clusters of Clay: A Compositional Analysis of Ceramics from Chimney Rock. Masters
Thesis submitted to the Graduate School, University of Colorado, Department of
Anthropology.
Shelley, Steven
1993 Analysis of the Faunal Remains from the Wallace Ruin: A Chacoan Outlier Near Cortez,
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