Questions about quartz quarry

[PA.Hunter]

Hi everyone! Now that spring is here I got to go out suface hunting a near by river hill where there is a lot of history of Indian activity and I stumbled upon three good size ditches on the side of a hill with a flat area on the bottom as well as the top. All the land on the top is flat and scattered with debitage. The sides of the ditches and the bottom is also covered with debitage some places its a couple feet deep. On the sides of the ditches there is also large quartz boulders. Just digging around a little bit I found several very nice crystals some as big as my hand witch is pretty rare around my area. So anyway my question is could this be an Indian quarry? Another question is with all the debitage laying around why on earth would they not have took these awsome looking crystals with them Am i simply finding ones they missed or ones that didnt meet their quality standards and why am I not findind small reduction flakes? All of the debris is bigger and preform like would they have took the rock somewhere else to atcually knapp the tools out? Where would be a good place to dig and sift?

I will try to post some pics of the crystals and some of the debris.

Thanks in advance!

 

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[NC field hunter]

It sounds like you may have found a quarry. The large reduction flakes are what tip me off. They would work blanks down at the quarry, to a shape and size manageable for travels. Many quarries are actually marked as historical land marks. Another thing to take into consideration, if you aren't familiar with the land, is mining. Where quartz is found in abundance, other valuable minerals are likely found. WATCH YOUR STEP!! I have posted this many times, but feel its valuable and could save a life. My family has a farm with old copper mine shafts on it. Your description sounds nearly identical to what I have on the farm. Some of the trenches may be a couple of feet deep, some a couple thousand feet deep. I came close to stepping into a vent shaft while tracking a deer once. It would have been the end for me. Ask locals about this land's history before doing very much exploring. I'm not trying to spook you, only help. Good luck!!

 

[PA.Hunter]

Thanks for the info NC. As far as I know there was no mining in the area. I know the land pretty well back there. Thanks for the advice though ill keep that in mind. So do you think it would be worth sifting around this area or do I need to find one of the settlements where they would have taken the blanks?

 

[NC field hunter]

Thanks for the info NC. As far as I know there was no mining in the area. I know the land pretty well back there. Thanks for the advice though ill keep that in mind. So do you think it would be worth sifting around this area or do I need to find one of the settlements where they would have taken the blanks?

That I'm not sure of. Couldn't hurt to spend a few hours sifting.

 

[GTK96]

That I'm not sure of. Couldn't hurt to spend a few hours sifting.

Especially if there's a nearby stream, wet sifting is always easier and faster

 

[rock]

Those crystals sound interesting. Id like to see them. And if there is allot of them send me some. I like the crystals, nice to see you posting.