Page 1 of 1

Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 23 2023 4:52 pm
by overthehillsfaraway
The 300 page master plan on the spur cross website includes a listing with brief vague descriptions of roughly 90 sites of various types. Anyone had success matching any of these site numbers to the location? I was out to the skull mesa ruins on Thursday, but have no idea what ASU/ASM site number they are on the list, for example.
Master plan, list of sites begins on page 93:
https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/pumpkin ... r_Plan.pdf

Re: Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 23 2023 5:11 pm
by DixieFlyer
@overthehillsfaraway
Skull Mesa is not in the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, so I don't think that it would be included in this master plan

Re: Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 23 2023 10:00 pm
by overthehillsfaraway
@DixieFlyer
Doh! I didn't even realize it was beyond spur cross 🤦

Re: Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 24 2023 12:33 pm
by Hansenaz
@overthehillsfaraway
Quite a few sites in that area have been visited and posted in HAZ triplogs through the years but usually the exact locations are "obscured". I think the guy who's done the most is @Oregon_Hiker and if I remember right he had found an old archaeological report which put dots on the map. Plenty to find out there by old-fashioned detective work and just walking around!

Re: Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 24 2023 4:47 pm
by DixieFlyer
@overthehillsfaraway
In skimming through the master plan, it sounds like access to most of the sites will be via guided tours only. In this age of corporate social media, I imagine that it is difficult to maintain the historical integrity of the sites if their location is widely known.

Re: Spur Cross archaeological sites

Posted: Dec 24 2023 5:51 pm
by LosDosSloFolks
@DixieFlyer @overthehillsfaraway
Living close by I'm very familiar with many of the sites within the SPRCA boundaries. I've found stainless steel # tags about 1 inch in diameter in the ground at most of them. About 30 months ago I noticed that most if not all had been cleverly pixelated and hidden from Google Earth satellite views. I don't know at whose request this was done but I find it interesting and probably a good thing for the integrity of the ruins. Sites that I know of outside of the boundaries in the Tonto National Forest are still clearly visible however. One thing is for certain...there is no shortage of archeological sites to explore in this state.