The Big Rock

[JonnyReb]

 I grew up in the southern part of Charlotte N.C., in an area where major indian trading paths(roads)crossed and recrossed. In the late seventies, this area was still fairly rural and i ran all the old paths and trails that were near my house. I had no idea then, but some of these dirt roads were ancient, and one in particular ran from near my house, to a unique local landmark.

  Th Big Rock, as it was and is known, is a huge outcrop of granite that rises from the forest floor to about 2-3 stories in the air. Its flat on top, perhaps 75x50 feet and sloped off fast on all sides. There were all kind of smaller rocks nearby, most car sized. As kids we walked or rode our bikes or horses down a deeply cut trail, most of it several feet lower that the surrounding land. We actually thought it was a creekbed gone dry but later learned its the original path in thats undoubtably many thousands of years old. It lead right past the Big Rock and now dead ends on both sides by new neighborhoods. About 500ft of the original trail remains.

We were very aware of the indians even as young kids. All around the rocks are carved ovens, right into the rock. Most are woodland period i'm sure, and have 2 parts, the lower fire pit and the upper oven, smoke chamber etc. We also found many projectile points in the area, mostly from freshly plowed farmers fields. We didn't know then what the differences between those arrowheads were but now i know the bone birdpoint came from way further south probably, the flint came from either out west or possibly from morrow mt. N.C., 150 miles west. The quartz arrowheads were locally done.. lots of trading and lots of different materials used. 12,000 years of use, was revealed when we were surprised by a local college, UNC, did a dig there. We were right there through the summer as students of anthropology dug under every firepit and sifted through all the findings. They removed 4 feet of bones and earth, stone and charcoal before they hit virgin clay. They took all they found, desecrating the site basically, in my opinion.. At the same time, they shared info about the indians that had visited and later white men. This WAS a rendezvous point for both.

I have to say, that we continued the tradition, as we as teenagers also used the Big Rock as a place to gather, and it still is to this day although those who visit now are using spraypaint to mark their presence. The Rock itself is standing evidence to our declining nation but long after we're gone it'll still be there.

  Its off Elm ln in Charlotte and well worth a visit if anyones ever passing through. If you go to it,  walk around it and get a feel for whats there and how the village was laid out. Go on top, look down over the forest and in your mind visualize the thousands upon thousands of scenes played out in that spot over millenia. Its absolutely awe inspiring.

An online read i'd found with better pics than mine

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcmhpf.org%2Fmorrill%2520book%2FCH1.htm&ei=J-WWUemIJIK89QTsi4CoCQ&usg=AFQjCNHg26a1l8FZf9gnwGh-CuwhZ-jCXw&sig2=Mq9_IKIlNTWfVoIVy1wnUQ

A picture i took of one of the "ovens". Note the honeycomb patterns several inches deep up in the top chamber. Were they working on a deeper recess and work was halted or were those divits dug with a different purpose? The smoke layered up into them is many hundreds if not thousands of years old. Amazing.



  These are the arrowheads i found as a kid in the area. All these were found in plowed farmers fields within 1\2mile of the site. Note the different materials used. Some were obviously craftmen, others were just learning i'd say. The flint stone on the bottom is especially sharp and wicked still. The granite stone above it is pretty much as knapped and i imagine its owner regretted the loss.  The tiny birdpoint is bone i think. The quartz is native to the area and there were quite a few of these found. Interesting to note that we actually saw areas with piles of white quartz chips and didn't know then that thats the remains of artists at work. Also, we could take any of these quartz tips and put them on top of each other and they're all the same pattern. All identical in size more or less, same thickness. They obviously followed a pattern. These local tribes were Sugaw and Catawba..

[Otter]

Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for sharing this.

[Hawken50]

  Wow Jonnyreb that is awesome.Lady Hawken and i come down to Charlotte Every October for the Goodguys car show at the speedway.We'll have to check it out.By the way i guess we're kinda neighbors if ya can call a 5 hour trip neighbors. 

[JonnyReb]

  Hey thanks Guys!
Hawken you just let me know and i'll arrange a tour, the Rock is about 1/2 hour south of the speedway.
While Charlotte pulls everyone in now with banking and the Speedway or Football, the Rock was at one time perhaps the most well known landmark for many miles. To me, that deep and ancient trail leading to the rock is just as interesting as the rock itself and points to its onetime popularity. Just let me know if you'd ever like to see it.  J