South Carolina Petroglyph Site facts for kids
The South Carolina Petroglyph Site is a special museum located at the Hagood Mill Historic Site in Pickens County, South Carolina. It is run by a non-profit group called the Hagood Mill Foundation. The museum's main job is to protect at least 32 ancient rock art carvings that were made right on the rock where they were found.
Most of these carvings, which include 17 drawings of people, are believed to be prehistoric. This means they were created long before written history.
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The Discovery of the Hagood Petroglyphs
A volunteer named Michael Bramlett discovered the Hagood petroglyphs on a rainy day in January 2003. He was part of a project called the South Carolina Petroglyph Survey, which was led by an archaeologist from the University of South Carolina, Tommy Charles.
Uncovering More Secrets
After the first discovery, Tommy Charles and his team studied the large, flat rock. They came back at night and used special lights that skimmed across the rock's surface. This technique revealed more carvings that were impossible to see in normal daylight.
A large part of the rock was buried under a dirt road that was built in the 1820s. Charles got permission from the county to dig up the road and see what was underneath. His team carefully excavated the area and found even more carvings of people.
What the Carvings Show
Most of the human figures are simple "sticklike figures." However, one carving was very different. It had a head and legs but no arms, and its body was a large rectangle. The team gave it the fun nickname "refrigerator man."
Archaeologists believe these carvings are prehistoric because of how they were made. They were created by pecking, which means someone chipped away at the rock, probably using stone tools. This is different from scratching or carving with metal tools, which would have been used in more recent times. The exact age and meaning of the rock art are still a mystery.
Building the Museum
Soon after the discovery, people began making plans to build a museum to show the rock art to visitors. However, it took a long time to open. The museum finally opened in 2015 after delays caused by disagreements between leaders, construction mistakes, and money problems during a tough economic time known as the Great Recession.
The South Carolina Petroglyph Site is a two-room building that looks like a barn. It was built directly over the rock with the carvings. This keeps the ancient artifacts safe while letting people see them. One room has exhibits and photos. The other room has a viewing platform where visitors can look down at the rock. Special lighting makes the carvings easy to see, and you can listen to a recording by Tommy Charles that explains what you are looking at.
