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Sacred Stones in Indian Civilization: with Special Reference to Megaliths

Sacred Stones in Indian Civilization: with Special Reference to Megaliths

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Vera Cruz Quarry Pits - Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry in United States

Submitted by aluta on Tuesday, 24 October 2006  Page Views: 18172

Multi-periodSite Name: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits Alternative Name: Jasper Quarry, Jasper Park
Country: United States Type: Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
Nearest Town: Emmaus  Nearest Village: Vera Cruz
Latitude: 40.509000N  Longitude: 75.501W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
no data

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Vera Cruz Quarry Pits
Vera Cruz Quarry Pits submitted by aluta : A site even archaeologists agree on, although the dates they give vary. This is a chunk of yellow jasper, in one of the pits of the jasper quarries found along the Highlands ridge, also known as South Mountain, in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. This kind of stone was used by the native people for spear points, possibly mined here as early as 9 thousand years ago, up to the advent of the bow and arro... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Mine or Quarry in Pennsylvania

Quoting from Preservation Pennsylvania:

The Vera Cruz Jasper Quarry is one of the most significant archeological sites in eastern Pennsylvania. The earliest Native Americans, known as Paleo-Indians, quarried and shaped its stone for tool making as early as ten thousand to twelve thousand years ago. Their descendants continued to quarry and work this stone until the time of their first contact with Europeans in the 17 th century.

The jasper that occurs in Vera Cruz is part of a larger formation found in portions of Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Bucks Counties. The quality of the Vera Cruz jasper, however, is exceptional. The quarry's jasper is ideal for lithic toll making, owing to its internal crystalline structure. When struck during tool production, it cleaves in regular, predictable pieces, a valued characteristic in lithic reducing, shaping, and edge making. Native Americans widely recognized this quality, as evidenced by the long period of time during which they mined the quarry and by their carrying or trading the jasper over a wide region. Artifacts made from this jasper have been found on archeological sites throughout eastern North America. The quarries were determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The Vera Cruz and related quarries are unfortunately among the most threatened cultural resources in the state. Vera Cruz and other quarry-related resources have become endangered due, in part, to the opening of Interstate Highway Route 78, which has promoted commercial and industrial development in the region. In addition, this area is now within commuting distance of Philadelphia and New York metropolitan areas. While a portion of the Vera Cruz quarry is preserved and maintained as a park by Upper Milford Township, the remainder of the site is privately owned and threatened by increasing residential construction.

[Note from aluta: A drystone wall, incorporating some of the jasper, leads directly to the pits. It is not known if the wall is prehistoric.]
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Vera Cruz Quarry Pits
Vera Cruz Quarry Pits submitted by aluta : A dry stone wall, incorporating jasper stones, leading out of the area of the jasper pits in Lehigh County, PA. The road to the parking lot created the break in the wall seen here in the distance. (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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"Vera Cruz Quarry Pits" | Login/Create an Account | 12 News and Comments
  
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Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by Anonymous on Wednesday, 07 February 2018
First heard of this site in a class held halfway between Philadelphia and Allentown in the late 1987. I now also happen to have a friend who has a farm close to this site as well as another friend who has a friend who lives near this site. i plan to take a bus to this area, depart bus in Hellertown or else Allentown and have friend pick me up at bus stop or visit with a friend or else have my friend drive me from farm to this site. It is an important site for personal as well as historic and geological reasons. i have heard/seen photo of rare green color jasper from this site. Possibility of spotting ancient/prehistoric artifacts. park like setting, fun, interesting, relaxing. A field trip. Outdoor learning. Just myself and a couple friends, no crowded group tour.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by fredflemming on Friday, 08 May 2015
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I have a 7 acre wooded property on the outskirts of Macungie, Pennsylvania about 5 miles from Jasper Park in Vera Cruz. It is on the lower slope of South Mountain (Jasper Park is near the crest of that ridge). There are 3 large quarry-like pits which range from 20 to 50 feet across and 10 to 15 feet deep. They are arranged in a rough line. They are surrounded by substantial amounts of broken stone and boulders. This past winter, with the undergrowth much cleared, I found a number of large boulders and some smaller stones that might be jasper. They are light brown, vitreous, and lustrous and have many cavities with some mineral precipitated inside. I originally thought that these quarries were from the late 19th century and were for the fine-grained gray native stone. Now I wonder if they were jasper quarries and much older. How can I learn more about jasper quarries around Vera Cruz? How can I find out if these stones are jasper?
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    Identifying jasper. Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by bat400 on Friday, 08 May 2015
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    After first consulting a mineral field guide to be more certain that the stone is jasper and not obviously another mineral, if you want to be certain, I would suggest contacting the Pennsylvania Geological Survey. They probably have a resource which the Vera Cruz veins and other surface jasper. The pits you have found / rediscovered may be fairly obvious extensions. The Survey (if it is like the one in my state) may also have a resource for mineral identification.
    Depending on the history of your property, your find may already be documented as a historic jasper quarry. (This would generally mean that it has been used in prehistoric periods as well.)
    [Peterson field guides appear to be well respected and their Mineral Field Guide (or others) is probably available at your local library. It also never hurts to see if your area has a hobby group of rockhounds. Such enthusiasts are nearly always happy to help out.]

    Good Luck!
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by Anonymous on Tuesday, 19 May 2015
    Contact Upper Milford Township Office at 610-966-3223 or info@uppermilford.net and additional contacts will be provided to you.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by Anonymous on Saturday, 03 September 2016
    Sounds like you have a very nice find there on your land. Trying to teach my kids indian history here in Pa as well as how to work jasper and chert into tools is very important to me and my family. From your description, it sounds though like you have yourself an ancient mine. Very very cool.
    [ Reply to This ]

Vera Cruz by Aluta on Monday, 27 September 2010
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I used to have more pictures on here, some showing the jasper pits, but they've disappeared.
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Yet another "Jasper" Quary site in Pennsylvania. by bat400 on Monday, 27 September 2010
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Joe Stamm writes:

"FYI - my blog on the prehistoric jasper quarries located in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
azdrifter.blogspot.com"

His site contains photos of this other quarry site and artifacts.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Yet another by Runemage on Monday, 27 September 2010
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    Great site, great shots, especially of the tools - would it be possible to put a marker on some of the quarries in the mountaintop shots, it's so easy when you know what you are looking at in a landscape, but not so easy for other people to see the features that are so obvious to you.

    [ Reply to This ]

Vera Cruz Jasper Pits by Aluta on Sunday, 04 March 2007
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The local paper today featured an article on the jasper pits. It's not news, but gives additional information.
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    Re: Vera Cruz Jasper Pits by Anonymous on Sunday, 20 July 2008
    Nancy, would you email me back with the date of that article, please? Ralphsyjr@aol.com
    [ Reply to This ]

Article on Clovis point made from jasper from this quarry. by Anonymous on Monday, 11 December 2006
"Peggy Martin discovered the ancient relic among the silt and rocks in the Middle Spring stream bed a decade or more ago. She never imagined the stone spear point could cause such a stir. "I just thought it was an old arrowhead that wasn't worth anything,” says the 70-year-old woman. She tucked it away in a dresser drawer where it remained until this spring when it came to the attention of Middle Spring Watershed Association President Steve Dolbin. The spear tip sparked a fire in Dolbin's imagination, and the stone weapon has a new life - experts from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission decided the relic originates from a time as far back as 12,000 years.
The MSWA - which mobilized a year ago to fight against the possible construction of a waste water treatment plant on the Middle Spring - now touts the rich archeological history of the watershed as another reason to limit development along the stream.
Douglas McLearen, a state museum commission archaeologist, identifies the artifact Peggy Martin found as a 'Clovis point' spear tip that dates from the time when Paleoindians wandered North America hunting game and gathering plants and herbs. He describes the relic as "a very striking piece" that has survived with little damage. McLearen says it was likely fashioned by nomadic Indians as the tip for a throwing spear. He says it's made of Pennsylvania jasper a stone substance that probably originated in the Lehigh River valley in the eastern part of the state."

This is a link
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Re: Vera Cruz Quarry Pits by Aluta on Wednesday, 25 October 2006
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The large site at Oley Hills is less than 20 kilometers from these pits. It is possible that their proximity is one of the factors that determined the siting of Oley Hills and its extensive outliers.
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