It took a LOT of inner debate as to which monuments I should include here. There are some that I will never make publicly known (those few who know what I am talking about will understand), and I have many hundreds (actually thousands) of photographs of signs/symbols that may or may not be man made. Even more, there are many that are related to ongoing projects. So, what I have done is to include many monuments and carvings in alphabetical order, with no locations given, and some that have had their backgrounds blurred. I also decided not to include any explanations regarding most of their meanings. These monuments are from New Mexico to California, and up into Nevada.

One thing that I would like to make absolutely clear is that NOT ALL MARKERS, CARVINGS, AND MONUMENTS LEAD TO TREASURE! In most cases, the markers and monuments you will find only show trails, campsites, and routes to water. Remember, 250 years ago, in the high desert, water was AT LEAST as valuable as gold. If you have found a REAL Spanish Monument, CONGRATULATIONS! It most likely has nothing to do with any treasures. Sorry. The handful of people in the world who know what to look for in the vicinity of a vault or sealed mine, will never publish that information. The things you read about in books, treasure magazines, and treasure hunting forums will get you fairly close, but won't put you on the spot.

Spanish/Jesuit Monument Hunting is part art, part science, and a generous helping worn boot leather. Too much of either is always a bad thing. Let me explain; If you let your imagination soar without hinderance from your rational side, you will see markers in every crack and shape. You will see so many signs/symbols that you will be running in every direction (but the correct one). If you utilize too much of your rational side, then you will disregard many of the more subtle, but equally important signs/symbols as natural and miss important information. Another important thing to keep in mind, is that even though many signs/symbols' general meanings are known, variations in meaning and usage often occur due to the education, experience, training, and whims of the mining engineers who oversaw the construction of these monuments.

First, is the carving denoting that something is approximately 50 varas from this spot:

 

The next picture is a boulder carved into a face. It is pretty badly degraded, but it leads one right up an arroyo that was heavily mined in the past.

This next one is a particularly nice bird monument, that not one of the four rocks that make up this eight foot tall bird are from the outcropping on which it stands.

 

 

Here is a nice chair monument:

 

Here is a beautiful Spanish Cross:

 

This is a cut out in a cliff face that allows a person to stand on one edge of a cliff and look through this cut to sight something specific further along the cliff.

 

Here is a rock dam that preserved water for drinking and working with ore.

 

Here is a really neat eye carving:

 

Here is a 50 foot tall heart carved into the bedrock in the side of a mountain.

Here is a very nice smaller heart (about 5 feet in diameter). It can only be seen from a very specific cliff above it.

Here is what might be a caliched up shaft. Can't say for certain, but that small cross (about the size of the palm of your hand) gives a big hint.

 

Here is a very lovely Owl Monument:

 

A balanced pointer that leads you along a trail. The balanced part is about 7 feet on the side and 4 across the back, weighing about a ton to a ton and a half. It's near the top of a 3500 foot ridge.

 

Some holes made by Spanish Star Drills.

 

A man made window

 

Look long and hard enough, and you may just happen onto something like this. You can judge the age of the mine by the approximate age of the tree which was most likely not there when the mine was originally being worked.

Best-Mike