- Native history
- Early
- worked 3,000+ years ago; marker 1953
- DeKalb County
Steatite Boulder on the Decatur square
A partly worked soapstone boulder from Soapstone Ridge, displayed at the DeKalb courthouse with a 1953 state marker. It shows how bowl blanks were cut from the rock.
The record
The Georgia Historical Commission marker says the boulder came from a prehistoric quarry on Soapstone Ridge about 8 miles south of Decatur. Its surface shows the method of 'girdling' the stone to remove workable cores that were then shaped into bowls. Archaeologists estimated it to be at least 3,000 years old. It lets the public see the ridge's ancient industry without visiting, or disturbing, an actual site.