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Sunday, December 11, 2005
Experts call for protecting ancient quarry
By CHLOE JOHNSON
Staff Writer
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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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.
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.