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Identification:
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Preferred Structure Name:
| Castle A
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Structure Number:
| AZ O:5:95
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Other Structure Name(s):
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Other Structure Name(s)
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1.
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88A-64
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2.
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MOCA-00005
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3.
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NA 6373
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Park:
| Montezuma Castle National Monument
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Historic District:
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Historic District
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1.
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Montezuma Castle National Monument Castle Unit
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Structure State:
| Arizona
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Structure County:
| Yavapai
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Region:
| Intermountain
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Cluster:
| Southwest
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Administrative Unit:
| Montezuma Castle National Monument
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LCS ID:
| 000950
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Historical Significance:
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National Register Status:
| Entered - Documented
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National Register Date:
| 11/20/1978
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National Historic Landmark?:
| No
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Significance Level:
| Contributing
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Short Significance Description:
| Feature of Montezuma Castle National Monument: Castle Unit, nationally significant under NR Criteria C & D. Period of Significance: A.D. 1125-1400. Remains of a large cliff dwelling that represents the Honanki – Tuzigoot phases of Southern Sinagua.
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Long Significance Description:
| Castle A is a feature of the Montezuma Castle National Monument: Castle Unit, which is significant at the national level under National Register Criterion C for it embodies the characteristics of a type and period and under National Register Criterion D because it has yielded, and is likely to yield further, information important in prehistory.
The original construction and occupation of this site represents the Honanki-Tuzigoot phases of the Southern Sinagua culture. It was built and occupied during Honanki phase (circa AD 1125) through Tuzigoot phase (AD 1300-1400). The site was abandoned sometime after AD 1400. Period of Significance ranges approximately from AD 1125 to 1400.
Earl Jackson conducted the 1933-1934 excavation of Castle A (MOCA 88A-64, NA 1278 A/NA 6383). Testing conducted in the cave rooms by George Boundey in 1927 was never reported. Jackson excavated 26 masonry and cave rooms and estimates there were at least 45 rooms in a five-story structure (Jackson and Van Valkenburgh 1954. The cliff dwelling collapsed after a fire destroyed the ceilings; however Jackson and Van Valkenburgh (1954: 18, 50) believe Castle A was abandoned long before the fire.
Earl Jackson conducted the 1933-1934 excavation of Castle A (MOCA 88A-64, NA 1278 A/NA 6383). Testing conducted in the cave rooms by George Boundey in 1927 was never reported. Jackson excavated 26 masonry and cave rooms and estimates there were at least 45 rooms in a five-story structure (Jackson and Van Valkenburgh 1954. The cliff dwelling collapsed after a fire destroyed the ceilings; however Jackson and Van Valkenburgh (1954: 18, 50) believe Castle A was abandoned long before the fire.
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Construction Period:
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Construction Period:
| Prehistoric
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Chronology:
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Physical Event
| Begin Year
| Begin Year AD/BC
| End Year
| End Year AD/BC
| Designer
| Designer Occupation
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1.
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Built
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1125
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AD
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1400
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AD
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Southern Sinagua, Tuzigoot Phase
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Other
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2.
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Altered
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1933
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AD
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1934
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AD
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Jackson, Earl CWA
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Other
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3.
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Stabilized
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1935
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AD
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1935
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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4.
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Stabilized
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1941
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AD
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1941
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AD
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Jackson, Earl
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Other
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5.
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Stabilized
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1957
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AD
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1957
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AD
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Van Valkenburgh, Sallie
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Other
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6.
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Stabilized
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1958
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AD
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1958
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AD
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Van Valkenburgh, Sallie
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Other
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7.
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Stabilized
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1966
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AD
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1966
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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8.
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Stabilized
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1968
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AD
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1968
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AD
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Waggoner, William
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Other
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9.
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Stabilized
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1982
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AD
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1982
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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10.
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Stabilized
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1984
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AD
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1984
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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11.
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Stabilized
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1986
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AD
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1986
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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12.
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Stabilized
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1989
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AD
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1989
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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13.
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Stabilized
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1992
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AD
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1992
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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14.
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Stabilized
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1994
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AD
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1994
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AD
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NPS
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Other
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Function and Use:
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Primary Historic Function:
| Multiple Dwelling
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Primary Current Use:
| Ruin
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Structure Contains Museum Collections?:
| No
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Other Functions or Uses:
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Other Function(s) or Use(s)
| Historic or Current
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1.
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Exhibit
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Current
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2.
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Ruin
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Historic
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Physical Description:
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Structure Type:
| Ruin
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Volume:
| 2,000 - 20,000 cubic feet
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Square Feet:
| 6630
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Material(s):
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Structural Component(s)
| Material(s)
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1.
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Walls
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Stone
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2.
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Foundation
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Stone
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Short Physical Description:
| Castle A is the remains of a large cliff dwelling, once larger than Montezuma Castle. 26 rooms remain. Stabilized ruin w/ double and single coursed masonry set in caliche mud mortar. Beam sockets in cliff face above ruin.
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Long Physical Description:
| During its occupation, Castle A was even larger than Montezuma Castle, but the front sections of the third, fourth, and fifth floors fell away from the cliff face, possibly when a ledge collapsed. Twenty-six of a probably forty-five rooms remain. These additional rooms are indicated by beam sockets in the cliff face. The roofs were apparently constructed by socketing vigas into the cliff face and supporting them with masonry at the other end. These beams were then covered with latilla, reeds or grasses and were plastered.
Floors are generally cave floors or bedrock ledges. Some are covered with earth fill and plaster. The hearths in evidence are both round and rectangular shallow slab-line pits. Remnants of one oven dome exists. The cliff face is pocked with small caves and these were generally utilized as storage spaces.
The masonry remaining after the collapse of the front section consists of unshaped limestone blocks set in a caliche mud mortar and chinked with small stones. Exterior walls were double but most interior walls, especially walls of the small storage rooms, were of single block construction. Average room size is about 200 sq. feet. Doors and windows in evidence are generally apertures in the cliff face or gaps in the masonry with no definite shape or structure.
Intrusive elements include remnants of former concrete interpretive paths.
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