Indiana County Site

A reader Bill Carney from Indiana County got in touch with me about a site he has found just outside of Dilltown in Indiana County. My visit proved very interesting considering - I was out that way a couple of weeks ago doing research on Browns Farm (Laurel Hill Settlement) and was thinking there are some spots in Indiana County I'd like to check out.

This site is located along a sloping hillside with a ravine and a vista view of the valley below for miles. There are at least 10 rockpiles along with a couple rock on rock structures. As you can see from this first picture - this rockpile looks like it has been disturbed sometime in the past. The area has been logged in the past and is due to be logged again. Also a couple of hundred feet away - the area was once strip mined.

This is a tough area to shoot. What you are looking at is an almost completely buried rockpile that shows considerable age. We cleaned around the triangle like rock the best we could.

Simple rock on rock.

Another rock on rock.

More rock on rock - that looks like it may also have been disturbed at some point. But it does feature that odd and interesting flat type rock on in the front. If it wasn't in such bad shape - I'd almost say it reminds me of a turtle.

Another disturbed rockpile.

There are rockpiles of various sizes from small to large. This pile also looks smeared to me - but the front stone does remind me of a manitou stone.

Like I said at the top - this is a hard area to shoot. This is actually a very large rock mound that shows its age.

Another low to the ground rockpile which seems to be a type of 'style' in this area along with the sections of Cambria and Westmoreland Counties I search.
These next two pictures  - this rockpile features a hollow:

This hollow looks intentional to me. The hollow also doesn't look like it was caused by a long decayed tree. But having said this - it could also be a possible burial cairn - with the small wooden coffin long gone which caused the sagging.

The different styles of the site make me believe that this plot of land was occupied for quite a few years. 

Another rockpile in the distance.

Another smeared pile with a possible Manitou stone.

This is the view of the valley and off in the far distance is actually the mountain ridge that I spend considerable time searching. My impressions: I get the feeling that this was once a Ceremonial Site (there is a creek nearby)  with some possible burials along with Marker Piles and possible Vision Quest area that didn't photograph well. This area shows great promise - if it follows the pattern I've noticed on my side of the mountain - there will be more to be found I'm sure of it.