Camel's Den Cave
Camel's Den Cave is a small shelter cave located in the Patapsco Valley State Park, near Daniels, Maryland. It is known for being a tectonic cave and being the only publicly accessible cave in Howard County, Maryland.
Description
Camel's Den Cave is a shallow rock shelter of a gneiss area of the Setters Formation.[1]
History
There has been at least 2 archeological digs, which recovered a plethora of objects. Based on the date of the source article, the 2 archeological digs occurred before at least June 1950.[2] Baltimore archaeologist Steve Israel recalled a 1969 report about 2 rock shelters and various Native American related archaeological sites in the area around Camels' Den. Steve Israel said their exact location was kept secret to preserve the caves until there can be a “proper” study. An unclear time before the verbatim study, a man named Samuel Evans also claimed to have discovered 2 rock shelters in Camel's Den vicinity, he named them after one of the former names for the adjacent town of Daniels, Maryland. He named them "Elysville 1" and "Elysville 2".[3] Native Americans gave the cave its name. As of 1943, the cave was being used by Native Americans for "beer and card parties". A test digging, also in 1943, revealed no more remaining artifacts in Camel's Den Cave.[4]
Location
The cave is situated on an unnamed tributary of the Patapsco River. To reach Camel's Den Cave, visitors take a spur trail from the main path, crossing said tributary to find the cave in the hillside.[5]
References
- ^ https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/items/cbed6cb5-554e-4b7b-a6f8-1affd153c062
- ^ https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc6000/sc6046/000000/000001/000000/000049/pdf/mdsa_sc6046_1_49.pdf
- ^ https://www.baltimoresun.com/1993/03/07/small-wonder-in-patapsco-park-camels-den-caves-a-hidden-delight/
- ^ https://archive.org/details/marylandj141719441947natu
- ^ "Patapsco Camels Den". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2024-10-16.