Thursday, April 9, 2009

Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County Ohio


Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County Ohio in USA


This massive sandstone cliff along the Licking River at one time contained a dark hand-shaped Indian petroglyph. Unfortunately, the engraved petroglyph was destroyed in 1828 during the construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal which runs through the gorge. Notice the sandstone block walls at the river's edge that were part of the Ohio-Erie Canal towpath. Oral traditions ascribe the "Blackhand" as a warning to Palaeo-Indian tribes, i.e., 1000BC to 400AD, traveling up the Licking River to Flint Ridge, to keep the site a peaceful and shared resource for the quarry of high quality flint.

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