HOLMES] CONNECTICUT AVENUE QUARRIES 119 



and ii section across oue of the pits is given in h, plate Lxxxiii. The 

 beds of steatite are quite massive, exhibiting irregular lines of cleav- 

 age; the quality is, however, in the main, rather inferior. A sketch 

 jilau showing the trenches made on the quarry site is given in plate 



LXXXIV. 



As in the quartzite-bowlder ((uarries, little evidence remains of the 

 methods of quarrying. Tools of the classes already referred to were 

 no doubt used to loosen and remove the earth and to pry up masses of 

 the stone. Heavy rounded stones and hafted sledges served to break 

 up the larger pieces and to detach projecting portions. In several 

 ])laces on the floor and sides of the ([uarry the surface of the potstone 

 slows the usual pick marks, and in one place a slight grooving was 

 seen where the work of dividing a large block had begun. The exposed 

 .surfaces seem for the most part to i<'prescnt cleavage planes, and until 

 solid massive rock was encountered the laborious process of cutting 

 was uncalled for. • 



So far as the evidence obtained on the site shows, woik was confined 

 almost exclusively to procuring material for use in vessel making, but 

 apparently the pots were not often shaped or even partly shaped in 

 place, to be afterward detached by undercutting and wedging as 

 observed in many other places. It appears that as a rule tln^ rough 

 block was first obtained, then trimmed down to the approximate size and 

 form, and afterward hollowed out ready for the finishing operations, 

 which were in most cases conducted elsewhere. There were naturally 

 many failures from breaking, from splitting along partially developed 

 cleavage planes, and from imperfections in texture; and many hun- 

 dreds of these failures yet remain on the site, in the pits, in the heaps 

 of debris, and scattered far down the slopes of the hill and along the 

 stream bed. 



Tools Kecovered 



The tools with which the work of quarrying was accomplished were 

 sought most assiduously. It was expected that they would, in a meas- 

 ure at least, correspond to the tools known to be used bj- the modern 

 Indians of the region, as many steatite pots are found on ordinary vil- 

 lage-sites. This was found to be the case to a limited extent only. It 

 was found that the tools used were, as a rule, made for and especially 

 adapted to the work, which is unlike any other industry of the aborig- 

 ines. The implements prove, therefore, to be in a measure unique, 

 forming a class of their own. 



The remoteness of the site and the rugged conformation of the hills 

 on which the cpiarries are located render it improbable that the locality 

 was used for dwelling or for anj' other purpose than that of quarrying 

 and shaping the potstone. 



The tools found all pertain to quarrying and to roughing-out the ves- 

 sels, and may conveniently be divided into three classes: 1, those 

 improvised on the spot for local temporary use; 2, those made for the 



