Need Help....

[GAdirtfishin]

I am posting this for a friend of mine, I did not find this but I did have it in my hand just before taking the picture. I have never seen anything like it and I hope that some of you have.

This was found in NE AL with a pile of sandstone that had been gathered for masonry work on a house. This piece was noticed before it was used and that is the only reason that it was saved. It is in two pieces. The bottom right is a quarter for size comparison only.

I detect and have never looked for indian artifacts at all so here are my questions - What is it? How old is it? Does it have any value?

My buddy said that he soaked it in bleach to bring out the detail....I know, that was the wrong thing to do but he did not know any better at the time.

Thanks in advance for your help. View attachment 1168672

 

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[rock]

yes bleach is bad. What state was it found in?

 

[Mark Todd]

My first thought would be North American Indian rock carving, as you already believe.
How old? If someone can identify the symbols with other like ones that have a confirmed date you could get a " likely " date. Your best bet would be to go back to the source where the stone was gathered and look for other artifacts that are datable because of the way they're shaped or made. For instance many types of arrowheads have confirmed date ranges and indian pottery fragments can sometimes confirm a reliable date. Unfortunately a rock carving by itself may not be easily datable unless the symbols can be connected to a known indian culture. Perhaps someone closer to your neck of the woods can shed more light.
As for value, if it it's what it appears to be, I'd say yes definitely.
If I were you, I know where I'd be tomorrow, out pounding the spot where the rock was collected.
Congrats to your friend on find a really awesome piece!

 

[monsterrack]

That is a cool find but bleach was a bad idea, it could hurt the patina, but I'm not sure on that. I would have sent to someone that can verify that it is old.

 

[NCPeaches]

That's real cool and looks like the bleach didn't harm it but it might mess up any carbon dating should it be decided to do that. Yep I'd be headed out to where it was found. Are you sure that's a rock? It looks like pottery to me. Can you take a pic from the side? If not, did it have a curve to it.