114 STONE IMPLEMENTS (ktm. anx. i:. 



chisels, aiul all the evidences of the cutting and sculpt uiin;; — even 

 tlie whitened surfaces of the tool marks — were as fresh as if the work 

 of yesterday. 



The (juarry is located on a small hrancli of Hull inn, - miles north- 

 west of Clifton and 22 miles a little south of west of Washiuf-ton city. 

 The steatite outcrops in the bed and banks of a small rivulet, crossing 

 it at right angles, and seems to be an irregular IkmI or stratum inter- 

 calated with the gneiss of the Piedmont formation. It varies from 2(1 

 to M or M feet in thickness, and has a n(uirly northandsouth strike 

 and ti dip of from 70° to 80° toward the west. 



The ancient peoples ])rol)ably began work by removing detached or 

 partly detached masses Ironi the stream bed, and then little by little 

 followed the ledge uj) and into the steep hillside toward the north- 

 This hill is a spur of a low ridge on the west, and is some 40 feet in 

 height. It slopes otf rajjidly to the junction of tli.e (juarry rivulet with 

 auother branch two or three hundred feet below. The surface is cov- 

 ered with soil and disintegrated gneiss. 



Our investigations (leveloi)ed the fact that there Inul been two main 

 jiits or excavations — a long and wide gallery mentioned above, and 

 higher up a second ])it about 20 feet in diameter and S or 10 feet deep 

 connecting with the tirst but lying at the left, as indicated in the 

 accompanying sketch map, figure 18. 



S(j completely were the ancient excavations tilled up that inexperi- 

 enced eyes would hardly have detected anything unusual in the a])pear- 

 ance of the roun<led slope of the hill. The main trench was maiked 

 by a slight depression towaid the upper end, ami the debris accumu- 

 lated low down along the sides formed barely perceptible convexities. 

 ■No doubt the excavations had been largely filled as the work advanced, 

 and material from the upi)er pit had helped to obliterate what remained 

 of the main final depression. 



Tiie location of the upper pit was indicated by a shallow depression 

 some 20 feet in diameter and 2 or 3 feet deep, where modern exph)iters 

 had sunk a prospect hole. This pit had been left open, and its position 

 high ou the hill had prevented rapid filling. 



When the Bureau began its work of excavation the owners of the 

 quarry had already Uncovered a i)ortion of the ancient (luarry floor, 

 which rises from the stream bed at a low angle, so that at :U) feet it is 

 about 10 feet above the streajm and not more than i or 5 feet beneath 

 the slope surface. Unt little stone had been removed by the ancient 

 workmen, although evidences of excavation and cutting were distinctly 

 vseen, and a few stumps, scars, and bulbous chiseled masses api>eared at 

 the u])j)er edge. 



Soon after beginning work the floor was found to descend into numer- 

 ous pits and depressions where the superior quality of the stone had 

 led the quarrymen to persist in their work. The general level of the 

 floor was maintained for a distance of some 70 feet back into the hill, 

 and the deeper pittings at the hack reached 15 or 10 feet beneath the 



