An archaeologist with the state Department of Historic Resources is headed to western Goochland County next week with hopes of confirming a major historical find.

Chris Stevenson has gone on dozens of treasure hunts, only to be disappointed. But this one has potential, he said.

"There's something there," Stevenson said. "But whether it occurred in nature or culturally, we will have to wait and see."

The objects in question are possible sculptures and petroglyphs -- carvings made into rock -- of bears, eagles and human faces. Glyn Hall discovered the pieces while placing flags in the ground to mark boundaries for an organic vegetable garden.

"I looked down, and there was a face staring up a me," Hall said. "It was a bear. At first, I thought it was like a cloud where you see whatever you imagine."

Just to be sure, he took the small, thin rock to his house and washed it off. Soap and water soon uncovered the sculpted face of a black bear.

"I was amazed," Hall said. "I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime find."

As he dug in the garden, though, he discovered dozens of arrowheads and what he thinks are more than 50 sculptures and petroglyphs.

Stevenson already has examined photos of Hall's rocks and said most were probably formed by nature and marked by the sharp blades of farm machinery, but he thinks a few could be of "historic origin."

"I definitely see the bear -- that one has some potential," he said. "A few could be someone fiddling around in historic times."

He plans to visit Hall on Monday to more closely examine the collection.

Hall, 53, discovered the bear May 1 near Elk Hill in western Goochland County. He lives on a 150-acre farm near the James River.

"Since that day, every day has been like a treasure hunt," he said. "It's been crazy."

The items he found could date to a few hundred years ago or several thousand, when American Indians detailed life through art. Tribes chose symbols to represent their clan, including bears and eagles.

The bear holds special meaning to Hall, whose great-grandmother was Cherokee. He wears a hammered silver bear necklace to honor the bear clan.

One of Hall's biggest discoveries happened two weeks ago next to the garden, where a boulder marks a corner. He was driving around the bend one night and his headlights hit the rock in a way that revealed what he sees as an Indian's face.

"He has his mouth open, like he's yelling out a warning," Hall said. "On the other side you can see an eagle's wings. It's truly amazing. I seem to have a gift for seeing things. I'm a bit of a Renaissance man."

Hall, the band leader for the gospel group Eagles in Flight, teaches music and dabbles in furniture-making. Perhaps it was his creativity that allowed him to zero in on the shapes, he said.

"It was meant for me to find, I'm sure," Hall said. "I believe this was definitely a spiritual gift."

Or it could be nothing more than the natural process of aging rock. When etchings are man-made, pecking (rubbing stone against stone to create a pattern) systematically covers an area, Stevenson said. Natural lines occur from flowing water and cracking.

"I do a reality check all the time," Hall said. "If it's natural, I won't mind saying so."

The next step, depending on what Stevenson determines when he visits, could be a professional archeological dig. In the meantime, Hall will continue scouring the landscape for more treasures.

Contact Janet Caggiano at (804) 649-6157 or jcaggiano@timesdispatch.com.

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