I have a lot of white quartz/quartzite rock piles on a hill side that faces east. They are anywhere from a couple feet across to several feet across and range from a foot tall to a couple feet tall. They have been there a long time. The rocks range in size from an orange to a large honeydew. There is one pile that is probably the biggest and it is probably six feet across and at least 2 ft tall. Right in the middle on top is a piece of rock (I think its granitic gneiss which is the predominant rock here). There really is not a lot of quartz around the property, just in the piles. We find a LOT of quartz and quartzite projectile points in the pasture below. Do you think they might be Indian graves. I really do not want them bothered if they are. People have asked me what the rock piles are and I usually tell the they are farmers' rock piles. Then they always ask where the farmers got all that quartz... These piles are in west/central Georgia.
In pic 506, you can see multiple mounds going up the hill.
Incidentally the points we find here are from the Archaic Indians, very old. These mounds appear to be very old.Pic 508 is one of the piles that has a single piece of granite in the middle.
Pic 507 has a camera case that is 6"long and 4" wide for comparison to the rocks.
And 511 is a pile. These are not all of them, just a few. There are a couple that have been tumbled.
But yes, my conetention has always been they were probably prehistoric and that no farmer would pile only white quartz...on the TOP of a ridge.One other thing. These piles are on an east facing ridge overlooking a valley with a creek at the bottom. It is a nice view.
[Note from pwax] With the exception of some small assemblages of quartz which could be called a "pile", I haven't seen anything like these pure quartz piles up here in the northeast. If anyone else knows of some, please leave a comment. As I recall, there is an Eagle Mound, also in Georgia ,made or at least surfaced with quartz - leading me to wonder if this use of quartz isn't a particular and identifiable tradition from that area.
I also want to make a comment about the fact that this information comes from Georgia. Looking over the visitor logs there are always more visitors from Georgia than anywhere else in the south. I thought this was because I posted some information about "Little Mullberry Park", a common search term. But it seems as if there is either an increased awareness of rock piles in Georgia, for some reason, or else there are just a awful lot of rock piles down there. But it is interesting that we have heard from VA and from W.VA and from Georgia several times. What about the Carolinas? The Arkansas, etc? I am sure they have rock piles in those states too.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow! Those are beautiful. Does anyone know where the quartz comes from? Is there a vein of it nearby in the gneiss or does it come from further away?
ReplyDeleteI live near an outcropping of quartz, some of which has small but nice crystals in it, and there are small piles of it but I think they're just places where the farmers tossed stones out of their fields, because there are so many big quartz stones all around. This place in Georgia is very different. I'll bet the piles look great on a moonlit night.
I'd be interested to hear any further information on this site.
Thanks,
geophile
There is a large quartz pile on the Panther Orchard Farm property abutting the Miner Farm.
ReplyDeleteThere is a large, mostly quartz cairn on Breakneck Hill in S. Pomfret, VT, and a quartz platform in Rochester, VT.
ReplyDeleteNorman
I just googled quartz arrowheads,and this post of yours from a reader in Georgia came up.
ReplyDeleteI live in Atlanta. 20 years ago, hunting for shells on the beach at Hilton Head, South Carolina, I found a perfect quartz arrowhead. Tomorrow, at one of our state parks, Etowah Indian Mounds, in Cartersville, an archaeologist is dating artificats for free.
I have a contest going at work. One person says the arrowhead is 225 years old. Another 150. I think it's a heck of a lot older than that. Anyone want to guess?
Also, could you please put me in touch with this reader in Georgia? Or let them know about the event tomorrow? The state park's website is www.gastateparks.org. Mine is www.katherineskitchen.squarespace.com.
Lovely site you have here. I will return.
The Woodsman Sage reports
ReplyDeleteI have found several quartz piles of different sizes & shapes. My most interesting find was six perfect quartz arrowheads and one extraordinary obsidian arrowhead
with a blue band running through the middle. these arrowheads are made from gem quality stone and were found inside a clay pot with a lid. The pot was broken but still pretty much intact. the obsidian head was so sharp my brother cut his finger while handling it. I would like to know how an arrowhead made from volcanic glass found its way to middle Ga. wikinson county ?
We live in North Augusta,SC, very close to the Savannah River. We have found the same thing. Three piles of rocks, same as in the pics above, lined up along the east side of the hill, with a creek in the valley. The river is not far from these, either. In the same area, in the river, we have Indian fishing wiers, and artifacts are found all the time. I have been researching the Archaic Indians that have been living the Savannah River Valley, and evidence of their life here is constantly being discovered. Just wanted to let pwax know that yes, we have them here too, just not documented too much, at least what I can find the on the net. Thanks for the info though, the article straighten out some things for me.
ReplyDeleteI have found the same thing. Rock piles east side of hill overlooking a creek. North Georgia
ReplyDeleteThis type of stone pile (sometimes referred to as 'cairn') can be found across the Southeastern United States. I have found many of these in the Northeast Georgia area, and I have found these similar characteristics: they are mostly found on hillsides or ridges and placed towards the east or southeast, with a creek or river below. And I have also noticed that the quartz stones seemed to have been carried for some distance, unlike stone piles created by farmers clearing fields.
ReplyDeleteA noted certified archeaologist has studied such stone piles and he was unable to reach a definitive conclusion. Even those with similar outward appearances could have differing origins, from Native American to recent creation.
However, his conclusion was that such piles SHOULD be reviewed by an archeaologist as they could well be of Historical Native American origin.
Also, some historians have noted a possible connection to the Yuchi tribe (also seen spelled as Euchee or Uchee.) The Uchee were noted for their stone pile creations. Furthermore, while doing my own research, I was contacted by a professor who was studying a possible link between this tribe and Siberia or Central Asia, as these same stone cairns can be found there.
I also should have added that in the early 2000s, I invited a professor of anthropology to visit a site of stone piles, including one large "pile" in excess of 100 feet long and 20 feet wide that runs downhill towards what is now simply a creek. Upon seeing the stone piles, he stated they were consistent with Hopewell era, of Native American origin.
ReplyDeleteNote this in the comment above:
ReplyDelete"Even those with similar outward appearances could have differing origins, from Native American to recent creation"
It is a fallacy to view "Native American" as contradicting "recent creation"
The "Augusta/McCormick" area quartz can be found down on the coast. The small piles I have seen were on the west bank (west being the direction toward Savannah River)
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool stone place online. I was able to find multiple items not just one item.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool stone place online. I was able to find multiple items not just one item.
ReplyDeleteI have a rock carin on my lot at Lake Sinclair,the lot is located at the intersection of Reedy Banch and a unamed branch.It is located on a flat area with terrace on east and south side. The place faces due east. From the carin there are marked trees,arrowhead mark,that go toward the lake,one leads to a stump that has an elaborate circular drawing cut in the wood,the other line leads you to a sweet gum tree tree that also has drawings on it. I know none of these trees would have been there at the same time the Native Americans were here,this is puzzling to me. Possibly someone is putting new marks because they want to always know how to find the carin. I am a Registered Land Surveyor so I am very familiar with marking lines on trees nearby property lines. Carl McNally , cell phone is 678-372-1910
ReplyDeleteI've recently discovered a huge pile of quartz on my property in Searcy,Arkansas. Its around 12Ft×12ft and who knows how deep. They range in size from boulders to teeth and I'm just dying to know more about the origin but I'm unsure who to contact to find out anything more...
ReplyDeleteApproximately a hundred roughly 4' x 3' piles of moss-covered stones have been discovered on a hillside that stretches down to a small creek near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Many of these piles have a single quartz stone placed atop them. Across the creek, there are similar piles constructed solely of quartz. What are they? Has anyone ever dug down to see what may be buried beneath them?
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of rock piles in the woods around rock eagle and a white quartz pile at my uncle's home in barrow County G.A. ALSO There's many more piles all around little mulberry i grew up a mile from the place and hunted all around the area
ReplyDeleteI have noticed these types of piles just southwest of Atlanta. Always on a steep hillside with a creek or river below. The rocks do not look like they were stacked by farmers clearing fields.
ReplyDeleteI have one on my property in Colorado. It’s a pretty big area, on the south side of a hill (with a beautiful view).
ReplyDeleteI have one as well, I'm in Colorado. Trying to figure out what it is.
DeleteThe area around the rock eagle and rock hawk effigies is full of stacked stone complexes. I know two piles that are at least the size and height of the better known rock eagle and hawk, if not larger.
ReplyDeleteI have a huge quartz pile on my property, on the south side of a large hill. The Ute Indians were prevalent in the area. Any idea of what this could be? U812bro@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThere are so many places around Paulding County that I have came across over the years. One really distinct one is at Lamar Moody Recreational area in Villa Rica or better known as Paradise Lake. If you enter the woods on the east side of the lake through the turn off before the lake. Walk back about 1/2 mile and you won’t miss it and them. The biggest one has a massive Quartz boulder sitting in the middle with a small cavity beneath it as if it were inviting you to take a peek. No thanks. The boulder is too big for 5 people to lift and the pile its sitting on is made up of basketball sized Quartz rock. Pretty cool stuff in these woods. Old stuff. Safe and happy hunting. Oh there’s more off Maroney Mill and Industrial access in the woods by Chism Lake.
ReplyDeleteYou can also see the old massive moonshine stills and the old stone path to divert water to them. The barrels are huge and half submerged in the earth maybe to conceal them. Good stuff
ReplyDeleteI'm from Ontario canada and I've found numerous piles of quartz or quartzite rocks in different locations that I don't believe them to be farmers piles given the organization of them and it seemed to me at some locations they where collected and carried a good distance. They where roughly the size of basketballs or baseballs
ReplyDeleteI've seen the same piles of stone on a hillside before. After observing them, I am convinced they are Native American graves l, and same for the piles in the pictures.
ReplyDelete