Heading up from Atlanta today to spend the night with family near Asheville, NC. I always try to sneak in at least one or two interesting stops along the way and today's stop is the Judaculla Rock, which is a large soapstone boulder containing the highest number of petroglyph motifs of any single stone east of the Mississippi River.
The Cherokee harvested soapstone from this area (and from this exact stone) to fashion bowls and other vessels dating back nearly three millennia. It is believed that most of the petroglyphs were carved between 300 and 1500 years ago. Much of the rock art, including a supposed hand print, relate to the Cherokee Spirit, Judaculla, who was the master of the hunt in their mythology. The location is still sacred to the Native people.
The boulder itself is massive and somewhat circular. I'd estimate the diameter to be around 10 feet. The l flat surface on which the petroglyphs were carved, slants slightly downhill and a observation deck has been constructed around the sacred stone to allow visitors to see the petroglyphs from many angles. It's truly an impressive site.
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