Page:Archæology of the Central Eskimos.djvu/23

four of the houses (II, IV, V and XX) the excavations were not quite finished, whilst the lowest four layers in a number of sections of the refuse heap had to be left unexplored.

The Naujan locality lies almost in the centre of the north coast of Repulse Bay, the bay which, almost on the Arctic Circle, cuts into the American continent and thereby separates Melville Peninsula from the mainland. Hall^[1] mentions the Eskimo settlement Nowyarn, where he stayed during the first two months of the winter of 1865–66 and where, in a village of snow houses, there lived 43 Eskimos. The Handbook of American Indians^[2] refers to Naujan as "a summer settlement of the Aivilirmiut of Repulse Bay." The position of the settlement will be seen on the map, Fig. 2. It lies in a fairly wide valley surrounded by rounded ridges of primitive rock; the upper end of the valley is occupied by a long, narrow lake; on the west bank of this lake rises the steep, fifty-five metre high gull cliff which has given the place its name (Naujan means "the gulls"). The lake is 13 metres above sea-level; a little stream runs from its south end along the west side of the valley to the sea, which here forms a small bay. The valley bottom is fairly flat, covered with grass and moss and in parts is swampy; on the flat area along the lake especially sphagnum and other marsh plants spread into a spongy covering over the peaty soil; to the north-east the valley gradually goes into gravel terraces which continue along the east bank of the lake; to the west it is bounded by a cliff. By the south, south-east and east sides of the lake lie 20 ruins of winter houses. The largest group, consisting of 7 houses (IV–X) lies where the flat stretch south of the lake stops and the fall of the valley towards the sea begins, at a height above sea-level of 14 metres; they are in two small groups of 4 and 3 houses. Near to these, but a little lower, 12–13 metres above sea-level, are 3 house ruins (I–III). On rather flat terrain near the southeast corner of the lake, 16 metres above s. l., are 4 houses (XI–XIV); a little more to the east, built into the gravel terrace, 19 metres above s. l., are 4 houses (XV–XVIII); finally, on the gravel terrace by the east bank of the lake, at some considerable distance from the others, are 2 house ruins (XIX–XX), 20–21 metres above s. l. In addition there are round about the settlement numerous graves and other Eskimo relics which will be dealt with later on in this work.