The Sheep Shelter is a small rock alcove naturally formed along the bottom of a cliff face. It measures approximately twenty-five feet wide by four feet deep and five feet high. The opening has been sealed by iron bars to prevent vandalism to the interior. The opening also faces due south.

The Sheep Shelter shows the oldest layers of habitation in Clear Creek Canyon. Several remains of hearths (camp fires) were uncovered in more than six feet of deposits examined by archaeologists. The oldest hearth layers date to 3500 B.C.E. (Janetski 26). Curiously, the campfire remains extend numerous centuries until about 500 C. E., when the enclosure apparently stopped being used as a camp shelter. This is the time when the Fremont began inhabiting the canyon. This means that prior to Fremont usage this little rock alcove was being used as a shelter, but during the Fremont habitation it was being used for something else.

Quite remarkably, the Fremont inscribed a series of peculiar petroglyphic markings in the shelter that are unique to this location. There is a line pecked into the rock that circumscribes the ceiling of the enclosure (See Figure 5). On the very east end, two concentric circle motifs have been carved below the line, while along the line around the back of the shelter are a series of dome shaped images that look either like pit houses (the domiciles of the Fremont) or perhaps half-concentric circles. There is also a star shape pecked into the line. The real surprise are the beautifully displayed scorpion and sheep petroglyphs carved on the front ceiling of the alcove (See Figure 6). To see them, one must sit inside the cave and look outwards to the south. FISP personnel have installed a large mirror at the back of the cave so visitors can see the petroglyphs carved on the front ceiling in its reflection. Further, there are legs of sheep that remain towards the upper part of the ceiling; the ceiling itself has entirely flaked off over time. This means that the ceiling may have at one time been covered in petroglyphs.

Figure 5. Back of Sheep Shelter. This panoramic image shows a line carved around the ceiling with a series of domes or half-circles inscribed upon it. The line actually circumscribes the cave and appears to be some sort of horizon line. Photo by author.

Figure 6. Panoramic image of front side of Sheep Shelter looking out. A series of sheep, a scorpion, and an anthropomorphic figure are carved into the front ceiling. Petroglyphs may have once covered the ceiling. Photo by author.

When first seeing this site, I realized that the real usage of it would require a person so sit in the cave shelter, with their back against the wall, looking out with the petroglyphs viewed above them. In so doing, one sees the opposing canyon ridge line to the south, and the cave ceiling prevents a full view of the sky. In fact, one can only see about thirty degrees of sky from the top of the opposing ridge to the bottom of the cave ceiling.

FISP granted me permission to stay overnight in this cave shelter for viewing. It just so happens that the sightline proffered by the shelter frames the ecliptic in the southern sky. This is an extraordinary coincidence of nature. What this means is that a person sitting in the shelter, positioned as it is on the canyon bluff, would watch the rise of stars, planets, sun, and moon in their south eastern position and follow those celestial bodies across the ecliptic framed by the top of the cave ceiling. One could literally watch the passage of the planets and zodiacal stars within the perfect solitude and framing of the cave. I propose that once this sight framing was discovered the cave shelter was used as a place to measure the sky, and the naming of the site should really be The Sheep Observatory. The line pecked around the ceiling is highly suggestive of a horizon line, and the dome motifs and sheep and scorpion glyphs probably interplay with unknown Fremont cosmology.

Finally, McHugh noted that the two concentric circles carved on the east side of the cave face the spot on the horizon where the winter solstice sun sets. Because of an outcropping of rock along the bluff just west of the shelter, it is probable that the last rays of sun at or near winter solstice will light up these concentric circles. McHugh and I will return to watch the phenomenon at the winter solstice this year.