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Sunday, December 11, 2005
Experts call for protecting ancient quarry
By CHLOE JOHNSON
Staff Writer
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A boulder of hornfels shows evidence of having pieces chipped off to make stone tools. The stone is one of several marking a prehistoric quarry site in Tamworth. (Bea Lewis/Citizen photo)
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Article: Archaeology buff: Donors can save site
A prehistoric quarry once used for stone tool production on Mount Whitter's north face in Tamworth is unprotected and vulnerable to artifact looting, but experts say preserving it would be difficult.
Concern about protecting it has grown since a $28 million project to build a motorsports park next to it was cleared to proceed this fall.
New Hampshire state archaeologist Richard Boisvert has said scheduled blasting and construction won't directly harm the quarry. But he also has said the project could spur collateral development, putting the site at risk.
Boisvert has called the quarry one of the state's most significant and endangered prehistoric sites.
"This is a rare kind of site," he said. "There aren't many of its kind."
The quarry is located in the Ossipee Mountain range, which was formed by volcanic activity. The quarry contains hornfels, a hard, shapeable rock the area's prehistoric people sought out for making stone tools, said Stephen Loring, a Smithsonian Institution museum anthropologist.
Stone artifacts can be found throughout the area. The quarry's rock was used widely, possibly in more places than people are aware of, said Loring, who added that he grew up in the area and is familiar with the quarry site.
"It should be a national park," he said.
He said some of the earliest evidence of ancient American cultures has been uncovered in New Hampshire's forested and lakes areas. He added that there may be an "impoverishment of knowledge" about the state's prehistoric resources.
Also, he said, locating millennia-old stone tools is one of the few ways researchers can trace ancient landscapes.
Loring, who works at the Arctic Studies Center of the Smithsonian, a national organization of several museums and research centers, said he was disappointed development was planned in the area. He added that the site would qualify for the attention of the Archaeology Conservancy, which helps local groups fund preservation efforts.
He noted that New Hampshire does not have any federally recognized tribal groups, though there are Native American tribes represented in the state. The quarry has ceremonial significance to Native Americans, he said, and if there were a unified presence, the development likely would spark opposition.
One tribal representative agreed. Fred Wiseman, an archaeologist and member of the Abenaki tribe, directs the Abenaki Museum in Swanton, Vt.
"I doubt that there would be any Native American in the region, Abenaki or not, who would not prefer that the site be left alone or preserved," he said.
Wiseman said it's nearly impossible to protect a quarry from souvenir collectors when artifacts are accessible. A chain-link fence or other barrier would slow casual collectors down, he said, but there aren't many options to stop them.
Different landscapes have more options, he said, adding that some sites have been buried under plastic.
Boisvert said technology like video cameras and motion detectors could be used if the effort is coordinated with authorities, but wildlife would trigger the devices and cause false alarms.
Establishing it as a federally protected area would bring another body of laws into play, Boisvert said.
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Bea Lewis/Citizen photo Chips of hornfels, a volcanic rock, litter the ground near the site of a prehistoric quarry in Tamworth.
He added that he hopes organizations will unite to preserve the site, since the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources doesn't have the funds to do it.
State archaeology offices in the region vary in size. The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has a 12-member staff that includes Boisvert. The state also has a 10-member historical resources council that includes the governor.
The Maine Historic Preservation Commission has a 10-member staff. The Massachusetts Historical Commission has 18 members and an additional 22-person professional staff.
The numbers for each state include administrative and other employees.
Boisvert said his office would benefit from funding for an additional staff member to educate the public.
"There are some really pressing needs that the state needs to address," he said. "Archaeology doesn't need to have first priority, but it does need to have a priority."
There are five prehistoric sites or districts in New Hampshire listed in the National Register of Historic Places. They are in Laconia, Concord, Claremont, Berlin and Tilton. Boisvert has said the Tamworth site has the potential to be listed among them.
If given the choice between digging to study the Ossipee Mountain site or preserving it, Boisvert said he would choose the latter.
A destroyed site never can be restored, he said.
"The future is more important than the short term," he added.
He also said archaeological tools and methods continue to advance, and there likely will be less destructive research methods available in the future.
Some Lakes Region artifacts are on display at the Portsmouth Anthenaeum.
The people who lived here had a "fully vibrant culture," Boisvert said, and they reached "truly remarkable" accomplishments.
Wiseman said quarries were generally a communal resource shared with other nations. "Quarries were often neutral ground where conflict must be left behind," he said.
He also urged action to protect the site.
"When a site is in danger, then we need to get involved," Wiseman said.
Boisvert called archaeological sites significant sources of knowledge.
"It's where we came from," he said. "It's our history as a human race."
Chloe Johnson can be reached at 742-4455, ext. 5395 or by email at ljohnson@fosters.com.
RandyO
IBA#9560
A man with a gun is a citizen
A man without a gun is a subject LETS GO BRANDON
I think I read in their latest news letter that the sight had already cleared the archeological red tape.
'04 600RR
Fuckin level it, pave it and let's go racing already!!!
Who gives a flip about some goddamned rocks!
KB
Next up, salamanders that need to be saved!![]()
Putting his hands in the air, like he just doesn't care.
Check out my eBay store!
Dave - Motorace - Michelin
actually, I think they are all set to go except court appeals, I think the article is an effort by the local granola bar liberal media to drum up support.
RandyO
IBA#9560
A man with a gun is a citizen
A man without a gun is a subject LETS GO BRANDON
Man these people do NOT want a racetrack in their area... makes you wonder if their will be problems with vandalism, etc..
Actually Ben, I think most of the locals are in favor of the track, most of the comotion against the track has come people in the region that are generally against any developmentOriginally posted by benVFR
Man these people do NOT want a racetrack in their area... makes you wonder if their will be problems with vandalism, etc..
RandyO
IBA#9560
A man with a gun is a citizen
A man without a gun is a subject LETS GO BRANDON
The fight is always downtown blue city
The Indians around have plenty of Gambling Money if they want they can buy it and set up a park.
The liberals want you to stay home not run around there sacred planet
You joe six packs you
Glen Beck is John the Baptist
Are they actually liberals? How does the town usually vote?
I think it has more to do with people who don't race cars/bikes don't like tracks nearby. Most of NH is conservative and you don't see any other towns jumping up and down trying to invite new tracks in.
This whole "get rid of the tracks" issue seems to be a problem everywhere in the country.. it sounds like it is a big part of the fast and furious street crowd problem.
It's a NIMBY problem, has nothing to do with political affiliation. And if I recall correctly, the Tamworth track anticipated local resistance, and their solution was to whine to the state and circumvent existing local controls put in place to prevent or control the track.
I'd love to see a new track up here, but from my understanding (and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) Club Motosports went about this whole thing the worst way possible and pissed a lot of people off in Tamworth right off the bat, and that's never a good way to do business.
wouldn't that make them conservative?Originally posted by RandyO
actually, I think they are all set to go except court appeals, I think the article is an effort by the local granola bar liberal media to drum up support.![]()
"fuckit!"
at least the last word he wrote was "race"![]()
-Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
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The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650
The worst part of it is that he states the track itself will not bother the ancient site... It is the development that may come with the track later... hello limit development there... Not where the track is...
As to the encroaching development that can happen afterward, if there is precedent of allowing one developer to build within a certain proximity to that site, others will (more than likely) be allowed to as well, esp. if it goes to court. Never certain, but I understand where the opponents are coming from; you have to think about the future of development, not just the one particular development at hand.
Indians would be the first to plow it under, for their casino!
LRRS\CCS\WERA #486
OK so set a limit about 50 feet from the designated area, is the track on that tract? Im sorry but if it is not going to directly impact it, who cares. The argument for possible contamination into the water was abetter argument, and it failed.Originally posted by sanfelice
As to the encroaching development that can happen afterward, if there is precedent of allowing one developer to build within a certain proximity to that site, others will (more than likely) be allowed to as well, esp. if it goes to court. Never certain, but I understand where the opponents are coming from; you have to think about the future of development, not just the one particular development at hand.
Also whoever owns the area of "ancient value" should not have to pay taxes on it ever again. And in fact should be given back the money they paid on it in the past. Since the land will be essentially useless to them forever
Another brilliant assesement from our resident bitter ol' bastardOriginally posted by richw
The liberals want you to stay home not run around there sacred planet
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eat me
I'm not bitter I've just been in a bad mood for fifty years
Yeh I stole it.
One time I was canoeing on a river that was at least
4 miles from stafford speedway and it was still loud
I am afraid to say that probably speed ways and race tracks are bad neighbors and do ruin your
"quiet enjoyment"
Glen Beck is John the Baptist