aztec ruins national monument

27 august:  aztec ruins is a 19th century misnomer, since it's a classic chacoan great house and part of the chaco culture world heritage listing --- excavated by earl morris with funding by american museum of natural history 1916-1922, declared a national monument in 1923

400 rooms, 12 kivas, parts of it originally three and four stories high, 

impressive original wooden ceilings and even remnants of woven mats used at door openings

morris directed reconstruction of the great kiva by the national park service in 1934, four years before there was an archaeological reconstruction of the earth lodge at ocmulgee --- both remain wonderful structures