Of the small terra-cotta whorls, both with and without symbolical engravings, we this week again met with 251 pieces; of these, however, only 31 had symbolical figures which I have not yet found. Several of the engraved decorations on these articles have been executed with a fineness which is truly astonishing, and more especially those which are engraved upon brilliantly black wheel-shaped pieces: they are so fine that I could only distinguish them through a magnifying glass.
At a depth of 6 and 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) we again met with very many ordinary plates, which had been turned on a potter’s wheel. At the same depth, and in the above-mentioned house, we found a curious vessel, exactly in the shape of a saucer to a flower-pot, ornamented with four triangles and two large crosses, one of which is formed by large dots, the other by lines. Several curious moulds were also found this week, one of which is of coarse terra-cotta for casting eight copper bars; the other moulds are made of mica-schist, and one was for casting an object in the form of a leaf with three long thorns on either side; the other mould shows three uniform furrows for casting oblong rings. This week we found only fragments of stone moulds for casting weapons and instruments. At a depth of from 10 to 26 feet we also discovered 27 small silex knives like saws, and six very pretty knife-blades made of black obsidian, which are sharp enough to serve as razors. We have found no copper knives this week, but, on the other hand, four copper dress or hair pins, from 2-1/3 to above 5 inches long; also thirteen needles for knitting or embroidering; likewise sixteen large bodkins made of staghorn, and a number of pointed boars’ tusks. Among the stone implements found during the week, there are two very pretty hammers of diorite and a very neat perforated prop of mica-schist with a small furrow at the top, for turning a spit, and other such things. (See No. 177, p. 261.)