THE ROCK
What is 11 feet long and 4 feet wide and covered with ancient
concentric circles, crosses and other patterns?
A massive petroglyph!
This boulder was donated to Reinhardt College by members of the Cline
family in the 1940s. It weighs approximately 5 tons and is about one and
one half feet thick. This ancient and mysterious carved rock was found
years ago on the Cline farm in the Hickory Log area of Cherokee County
near the Etowah River about four mikes north of Canton. It was brought
to the campus on a big wrecker and placed between two big oak trees at
the east end of the Dobbs Building. It was later moved from the library to the Funk
Heritage Center and it is on display in the Hall of Ancients where it is
the centerpiece.
This rock was one of a group of three slabs. According to historians,
because of a mistaken belief that Native Americans buried gold under
rocks with petroglyphs, the other two slabs were dynamited by people
with hopes of getting rich.
Petroglyphs, or rock art, are ancient
symbols and drawings carved into rocks by Native Americans. Janni
Loubser, an archaeologist with New South Associates in Stone Mountain,
Georgia is an expert on petroglyphs. He said, "We know Indians did these
things. This is based on archaeological evidence. With absolute
certainty, some things on this boulder are 1,000 years old or more.
Mr. Loubser said that rock dust, which was acquired by digging into
the stone, was ingested for luck on hunting trips, fertility in women
and for spiritual powers. The Indians believed they received power from
the powder. His firm completed a report that documents the cultural and
historical significance of our petroglyph.
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