Why is Oley Hills significant?
While Oley Hills is a curiosity, it isn't inherently more important or more intriguing than smaller sites, at least for the rock pile enthusiast who is taken with the charms and subtleties of the sites nearer to home. Its real significance, however, lies in its possibilities for the future recognition of the sites. Its sheer size and peculiarity can make even skeptical people admit that something is going on here.
And if those qualities can get it recognized as a site worth preserving and studying, the elements common to it and other sites could be pointed out.
There are the interestingly-shaped boulders,
odd elements like vertical stones stuck in the ground near boulders,
boulders linked by wall remnants or rock piles, and many other elements familiar to people in the field.The largest section of Oley Hills was recently purchased by private owners, and we don't know what fate those owners may choose for the site. We can only hope that the wonder engendered by the place will capture their imaginations and help the site survive, until that inevitable time when something causes the archaeological community and society in general to remember that human habitation in the northeast goes back much farther than 400 years, and enables them to see the evidence that lies all about them on the landscape.
Cobbles placed in a recess at the base of a boulder. Many of these small stones seemed to have been placed recently.
Artistically placed rock pile
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