Here ya go Roy........
Excerpts from independent Archaeological report regarding the Roger's Spring site. The Roger's site and the Pit site are in the same general area. The Pit site, to me, exhibits even earlier timbering. Here's what the archeologist had to say. And; the State Archeologist was non too happy about it either.
Page 24………..
The most plausible conclusion on the age of the (reference name deleted to protect the innocent)____ mine is that it dates to the era of Mexican influence in the American Southwest, prior to 1860. A technological comparison of the ___mine to Anglo-American mines that were excavated in the same area following the 1860s demonstrates that the adit documented by ____ mine was not excavated by Anglo-American miners in the period following AD. 1860. The only alternative is that it was excavated prior to A.D. 1860.
Page 30……………..
The mine very likely pre-dates the Gadsden Purchase with which the United States gained control of the Arizona Territory. The exclusive use of hand hewn rather than milled timbers for shoring in the mine, and the absence of a mining claim in Government documents suggests the mine does not date to the period between A.D. 1860 and 1900 of active Anglo-American mining in the Superstition Wilderness. The one remaining alternative is that it pre-dates A.D. 1860 and the entry of Anglo-American influence. The mine could date to the Mexican Period (AD. 1810 to 1853) or the Spanish Period (A.D. 1700 to 1810) of European influence in the American Southwest.
Page 30………….
The mine site is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic P1aces as an example of the mining technology that played an important role in the early entry of both Mexican and United States citizens into the arid Southwest. Local trees were used as shoring materials inside the mine, and hand-held metal tools were used in its excavation. All timbers were either hand sawn or cut with an axe. The bark was left on in most cases and some of the smaller samples were sharpened at one end, possibly so they could be hammered into place.
page 30..........
Although ____ found no gold in the mine (and indeed, no artifacts other than the support beams), the investigation has documented a type of mine that on the basis of technology and archival research must pre-date 1860, and is thus very likely to be an example of a mine excavated during the Mexican period of influence in the Arizona Territory. The documentation of this adit provides an historic basis to the stories and traditions concerning Mexican-era mines in the Superstition Wilderness, and contradicts the general consensus in the historic literature that there were no Mexican mining ventures in the Superstition Wilderness.
