Grinding stones near Congress, AZ

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
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White Plains, New York
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Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting

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Nice....you just came across them on a hike, or it's a known area?
 

They're bedrock mortars, probably prehistoric. You see a lot of them here in southern AZ. Cool find. The rock art is awesome too.
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This is one I found just the other day out in the borderlands along Arivaca Creek.
 

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Here are some more bedrock mortar pics ive taken over the past few years. These are from the ancient Hohokam period (c.1450 and back to some point I dont remember)
Bedrock Mortars Colossal Cave Mountain Park Arizona 2016.jpgPrehistoric Bedrock Mortars Huerfano Butte Arizona 2015.jpg
 

Nice ones. Shows the site was inhabited a long time. Am sure artifacts are plenty if on private land.
 

Just out hiking. The area in and around the Weaver Mountains is rich in native American history. :occasion14:
 

I dont know about the place at the top, but the two places I took photos of below are known sites on public land. Huerfano Butte has been visited by many, and youd be luck if you see even a pottery sherd laying around. The other place is Colossal Cave, and the nearby Indian village was excavated. You can see some pottery sherds here and there, but nothing else really. Although I havent looked much. You see it along the trails though.
 

Im sure there are tons of treasures underneath the ground, though.
 

Just out hiking. The area in and around the Weaver Mountains is rich in native American history. :occasion14:

For some reason I can see you with a Tesoro and gold pan strapped to your back!!! :occasion14:
 

Here are a few more shots from the same area. :skullflag:
 

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This is another bedrock mortar site out in the desert a little closer to home. For years people used it as their own little firing range, which is evident by the amount of bullets and casings and broken class strewn everywhere. There was a few pieces of plain brown pottery mixed in, nothing special. And a few years ago some little thugs spray painted their names on the overhanging rock you see at the right. They were arrested and had to remove their grafitti, I think with a sand blaster or something, because there are little pieces of painted rock all over the place.
 

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The bedrock mortars appear undamaged, though. Theyre very deep here. Ive never found a pestle laying around. They were probably carted off years ago or are still buried in the desert below.
 

Looks like a very cool place...I must go sometime.

We have similar petroglyphs here in Idaho, on what appears to be the same type of rock. Seems no one knows what they mean, if anything.... :icon_scratch:
 

If you come to Southern AZ, you must see Sabino Canyon in Tucson, AZ (The Old Pueblo). Its one of the most beautiful places around. There are bedrock mortars and petroglyphs there too. There are many other rock art sites in the Tucson area as well. Its most beutiful in spring after some good rain. This year has been very dry unfortunately.
 

View Across Courtyard Kinishba Ruins Arizona 2015.jpg

This is the ruins of Kinishba, near Fort Apache, AZ. Another really cool place to stop if you're in AZ. Many old building from the fort are nearby too.
 

I grew up in Phoenix, went to High school at Alhambra, and college after the service at ASU, in Tempe. Have some good friends in Tucson and Arivaca.
 

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Those are some very nice pictographs, the one on the right is amazingly well preserved.
 

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This is my mortar with some painted pottery sherds that used to sit on my grandmothers back porch. Her home was built on an old ranch just north of Tucson AZ, which has a very rich cultural heritage.
 

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