![]() ![]() “These symbols meant a lot to these people,” says Nevin, who has been searching for, documenting and protecting the Safe Harbor petroglyphs for 35 years. There are representations of the Seven Sisters constellation.Īnd the carvings include lots of serpentlike creatures, concentric circles, human footprints and faces, as well as elk, martens and other animals that once populated the area. There are four carvings that correspond exactly to the position of the sun for the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. Originally seen as insignificant graffiti when first recorded in the 1860s by the Linnaean Society of Lancaster, the petroglyphs on 25 miles of the Lower Susquehanna are celebrated by archaeologists today as the finest example of Native American carvings in the Northeastern United States.Īll are on the National Register of Historic Places.Īnd to the 62-year-old Nevin, who has discovered some 150 new carvings since the 1980s, it is apparent they are far more than doodlings. “For Native Americans, this is a sacred place,” he says. ![]() He runs his fingers gently inside its narrow outline, greeting it like an old friend. This carving Nevin knew about, but he hasn’t seen it in about five years. ![]() It is believed they were carved by Shenks Ferry Native Americans, using simple stone tools over a period from 500 to 1,000 years ago.īecause of a drawdown to repair the top of the Holtwood Dam downriver, the water level is down more than 3 feet this day, giving Nevin a chance to see carvings normally buried underwater. It is one of about 300 carvings on seven mica schist rocks amid a jumble of other rocks out here in the middle of the river. ![]()
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