AN OBELISK IN PURGATOIRE CANYON, SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, REVISITED:

On June 30, 2009, I posted a column entitled AN OBELISK IN PURGATOIRE CANYON, SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO. In this I presented a picture of a tall rock column with petroglyphs carved into the surface which had been erected vertically by someone in the past. In the text I mentioned that although my photo showed it with the top broken off, the broken portion of it was found at its base when I first visited the site.

Southeast Colorado obelisk. Photo: Jim Whitall.

I recently ran across an earlier photo of the obelisk that had been published by Bill McGlone, Phil Leonard, and Ted Barker in their 1999 book Archaeoastronomy of Southeast Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle. This earlier photo had been taken by Jim Whitall, and shows the obelisk with the petroglyphs enhanced on the surface of the stone. At that period McGlone and Leonard were in the practice of enhancing petroglyphs by painting the markings with a solution of powdered aluminum in distilled water, a practice that was thought to be harmless to the petroglyph. They abandoned that practice soon thereafter when the dating petroglyphs by analysis of their patina began to look possible.

In this early photo the largest broken portion of the obelisk had been placed back on top of it and the petroglyphs were enhanced with this aluminum powder mixture for increased visibility. A smaller fragment has also been replaced on the top but this fragment does not appear to have any portion of the petroglyphs on it. With the broken pieces back in place this early photo of the southeast Colorado obelisk does give a much better appreciation of the appearance of the original and the enhanced petroglyphs are more clearly visible This interesting phenomenon is essentially unique, at least I know of no other examples in this area.

Although, in this photo it looks as if it might be leaning against the rock behind it they are actually separated by a few feet and the column is truly free standing. I will be very interested to see any other examples of similar carved and erected stones from other locations. If you know of one please contact me. Thank you.

AN OBELISK IN PURGATOIRE CANYON, SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO:

Obelisk in Purgatoire Canyon,

southeastern Colorado,

Photo: Peter Faris.

In a tributary of the Purgatoire (Picketwire) river in southeastern Colorado there is a vertical stone column with petroglyphs carved into its face. It was erected in a crude circle of large boulders. My photographs make it look like it is leaning on the rock behind it but, in fact, it is free-standing and not touching that rock with an unknown length of the column buried in the ground. The obelisk now stands approximately four feet tall but the top has been obviously broken off so it once stood taller, and probably sported more petroglyphs as well. About 20 years ago a chunk of the broken-off portion could be found lying at the base of the remaining column but whether it is still there or has been taken I cannot say. When that portion was added to the standing column the broken faces did not match suggesting that there was once still more column that is no longer in place. Back then we estimated that if the missing portions were replaced it would have stood around six feet tall, but that was largely guesswork.

Close-up, Obelisk in Purgatoire

river canyon, southeastern

Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris.

This obelisk was erected inside a crude circle of large boulders suggestive of a shrine or sanctuary. Whether this circle was created, or naturally existed before the obelisk was added is unknown and no archaeological investigation has yet been attempted to my knowledge. The petroglyphs are abstract, and by the depth of the pecking and their repatination they appear to be archaic in age. That is apparent in the comparison of the color of the pecked lines to the coloration of the broken face at the top of the column. This is the only such example that I personally know of in North America. In the almost total absence of factual information it is tempting to see this as some sort of shrine or monument. In any event, it was purposely created and its very existence implies a great significance to its makers.

A book with a great deal of material on the rock art of southeastern Colorado and the Purgatory canyon is The Petroglyphs of Southeast Colorado and the Oklahoma Panhandle by Bill McGlone, Ted Barker, and Phil Leonard.