Hampstead artist creates Pueblo cliff dwelling model in wall

Ham & High reader Anthony Klouda chanced upon a young woman diligently moulding clay into a miniature of the Pueblo cliff dwellings of the 12th Century from Colorado's Mesa Verde national park.

However, this miniature version of the dwellings was nestled in an unlikely setting – a decaying brick wall at the bottom of College Lane, Hampstead.

The model was built in a crumbling wall in College Lane. If you look underneath the tree, you can make out the model nestled in an alcove (Image: Anthony Klouda)

He said: "I noticed a young woman applying modelling clay to one of the very large gaps in the wall.

"She told me she was making a 'display'."

Curiosity piqued, Anthony kept a lookout over the following days, finally discovering the completed structure.

The 'Pueblos' are homes constructed in the natural alcoves of the cliffs varied greatly in size, with some single room granaries and other 150 room homes (Image: Google)

He continued: "I found she had created a clay model of Pueblo cliff dwellings of the 12th Century in the Mesa Verde national park in Colorado.

"It was such an imaginative and interesting concept."

This display is not just distinctive, but also anonymous – the work is unsigned.

Mr Klouda said: "I love such acts of pride by members of the local community, which provide so much pleasure amidst the worn-down surrounds - especially when most people passing don’t seem to notice it in their hurry."

The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde are well-preserved and well-known in North America (Image: Google)

The original Mesa Verde cliff dwellings are some of the best preserved in North America.

Inhabited by the Ancestral Pueblo people from the late 1190s, these extraordinary structures ranged from single-room granaries to village-sized dwellings of more than 150 rooms.

However, by the end of the 1200s, the residents had migrated southwards, leaving behind their cliffside homes.