<< Our Photo Pages >> Signal Hill - Rock Art in United States in The Southwest
Submitted by bat400 on Wednesday, 20 September 2006 Page Views: 8682
Rock ArtSite Name: Signal HillCountry: United States Region: The Southwest Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Tucson, Arizona
Latitude: 32.292000N Longitude: 111.207W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
rrmoser visited on 17th May 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Great visit late in the day.
bat400 have visited here
The petroglyphs depict animals, human figures, and a variety of circular and spiral patterns. The case that the hill was used as a solar observation point with some ceremonial attachment has been put forward most convincingly by Nile Root, an esteemed photographer and astronomer. Root passed away in 2004, but his studies of Signal Hill and its petroglyphs were published by Sky and Telescope, the popular but scholarly magazine. Root's own website is still maintained and may be seen here. The first portion is very straightforward and convincingly describes petroglyphs placed in locations that allow particular patterns of light and shadow associated with the days immediately around the summer solstice and other solar limit and transition dates. (I have read nothing that indicates that the boulders themselves may have been positioned to augment these alignments.) The balance of Root's presentation covers much more speculative associations - but they are clearly identified as unproven.
I visited the site in the late 1980's and in 2003. At that time one could easily climb Signal Hill to examine the figures, although some areas near the top are now blocked to prevent damage to the site due to its popularity. All the photos I have included were taken from areas accessible in 2003. Signal Hill is part of the Saguaro National Park - a wonderful place of spectacular desert beauty.
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