Volvon Village on Mallory Creek 715 bedrock mortars and countless housepits spread over a half mile. Cupule rock. This village, located in the highlands of the Black Hills, must have been one of the largest settlements in the prehistoric Bay Area, yet it was, apparently, unknown to early archaeologists and historians. It does not appear […]
First Terrace31 bedrock mortars, a 23 cupule rock, and 3-4 housepits.Elevation 775 ft.This site and the Kitchen site are actually on the same terrace, separated by a creekbed, but because we discovered and named the Kitchen site first, we called this site the “First Terrace.”A view of the First Terrace. The cupule rock is near […]
Ryan’s Hideaway24 bedrock mortars.This site is named in honor of Ryan the Cowboy, who has kicked us off the ridge several times when we accidentally strayed onto private property.Being tucked away in a little hollow amid sheltering trees gives this site a “hideaway” feel. Look for more mortars on and around the little hill that […]
Green’s Village in Fig Pig Gulch75+ bedrock mortars; housepits.Elevation 716 ft.Jeff discovered this beautiful village on a Thanksgiving morning (!) reconnaisance hike. A great find, Jeff. The village extends over a wide area, and, like the Volvon Village, could be viewed as a collection of separate sites. We prefer the holistic view. About half the […]
Second Terrace20 bedrock mortars; housepits.Elevation 880 ft.That’s another multiple mortar rock at the center of the photo.A closer view. Note the bell-shaped vegetation plug.A view over some of the mortar rocks here.Previous two photographs by Bob Bardell.
Greenhill Ranch, aka The Green RanchElevation 2,440 ft.We call Greenhill Ranch the “Shaman’s Redoubt” because we think it likely that shamen worshipping on Mt. Diablo used this beautiful site as a camp/staging area. In 1938-9 William Wurster, later to become Dean of the Architecture Department at Cal Berkeley (Wurster Hall is named for him), designed […]
Slick Ridge33 bedrock mortars, numerous slicks, and multiple housepits on a ridge between Blue Oak and Volvon Trails.Many of these mortars are pot or pan-shaped, relative rarities in Volvon territory.We call this Slick Ridge because of all the flat rocks with shallow indentations we’ve found here. It’s hard to tell sometimes what’s a slick and […]
Intersection of Devils Slide Trail and Trail Through TimeOne bedrock mortar. Possible housepit nearby.Deep in the canyon below a sulphur spring sits a single cone-shaped mortar. Did a family live here? A single person? Or was this a “traveler’s rest” site?Closeup of the mortar.
Welch-Hurst house14 bedrock mortarsElevation 1421 ft.Another one of Joel’s South Bay discoveries. This one is in Sanborn-Skyline County Park.Judge James Welch constructed this log-style house in 1892 (although some sources say 1908) as a summer home for his family. The historic value of the house, according to the National Register of Historic Places, derives from […]
Intersection of Molluck and Coyote Trails.11 Bedrock mortars.The site spans both sides of Coyote Trail. Possible housepits on the east side.This small site could have been home to one or two families. Perhaps they preferred the relative isolation of this spot to the more crowded settlements nearby.The main bedrock mortar rock at this site. See […]
