ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 6, 1996 TAG: 9607080067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ARLINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A family walk in the park turned into a voyage of discovery for two Northern Virginia brothers.
Jason Liljenquist, 4, and his brother Brandon, 2, were playing at Bluemont Park a week ago when they found a hunk of stone archaeologists believe may be 9,000 years old.
The 5-inch cylinder has one blunt end and one pointed end, sort of like a torpedo. It contains depressions that fit an adult human hand perfectly - one for a thumb and one for a forefinger.
Ancient Indians chipped stones into such forms and used them for multipurpose tools, said Richard Sacchi, director of the Cultural Research section of the Fairfax County Park Authority.
The boys' father, Tom Liljenquist, said the unwitting archaeologists nearly threw the discovery away.
``They were doing what kids do, picking up rocks, throwing them in the water, burying them, digging them up,'' Liljenquist said.
Jason picked up the stone and was poised to hurl it into the creek, but handed it to his father instead, Liljenquist said.
``Once he handed it to me and I held it in my hand, I knew it was something,'' Liljenquist said.
The stone was probably used to make food for Indians living along the banks of the Four Mile Run creek, Sacchi said.
``I think that was something that could have been used as a crusher and grinder,'' Sacchi said.
Sacchi said similar artifacts have been found in the area, but they are rare.
``I think it's an isolated find,'' he said. ``You don't find them just lying around.''
The Smithsonian Institution has expressed interest in the find, but Liljenquist plans to donate it to the Arlington Historical Society Museum, he said.
Museum Director Harold Henderson said the stone is particularly valuable because of the way it was discovered.
``The relic is site-specific. We know precisely where it came from,'' Henderson said.
To deter relic hunters, park authorities won't say exactly where the stone was found. It is illegal to relic-hunt in Arlington County parks.
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