PA Rock Piles....here somewhere

 Have We Finally Found It? ~ Ghost Village Searching

You just know this guy is going to pass rock piles. The question is: will he say something intelligent about them?

The Indian Cave just below Tousi Road (Hatchett Tousey, Atchetouset, Hatchatowsuck, Hatchatousset )

.   “In the spring of 1996, I was shown what is known locally as the “Indian Cave.” It’s a little over two miles upriver from the floodplains that were the cornfields used by a band of local Native Americans whom local history documents as living there between 1672/1673 and the early 1700’s. A tributary branch of the river that flows through the floodplain, known as the East Spring (or Sprane) Brook, cuts through a large outcrop of bedrock, creating a zigzag ravine shadowed by hemlocks. Boulders in the stream create many pools, the largest of which was right below “Indian Cave,” before an intense summer thunderstorm caused flooding that filled the pool with stones and debris. I tended to think of it as “Plunge Pool” and imagined people leaving the Pissepunk and jumping into this pool. The “cave” is on the west bank, about six feet above the brook. It bears some resemblance to an overhanging glacial cave, perhaps a very small “rockshelter” in the approximately forty-foot almost vertical rock face. There are no obvious marks of any metal stone cutting tools or drills but I think it possible that it may have been quarried to its present size. From the brook to the floor of the “cave” there appears to be rows of stone piled and even “chinked” or mortared with clay (there was a large deposit of clay a short distance upstream) that still remains deep within this sort of “retaining wall” just beyond the drip line of the overhang. The deep pool below the “cave” seems filled with stones that fell from the wall over time, as if the “cave” itself was walled at one time.” From: https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2007/01/indian-cave.html

    On December 7, 2025, I just happened to re-read a passage from William Cothren’s History of Ancient Woodbury Connecticut that included place names related to the town’s past, including “Tousey” which “lies north-west of William Hayes' house, in the south-east part of Bethlehem, and is so called from a Christian Indian, who lived there for a time. His full name was Hatchet Tousey. A further account of him will be found on page 101.” I don’t know why it took almost thirty years for me to realize that the probable stone sweat lodge or pissepunk known locally as the Indian Cave just below the end of present day Tousi Road was related to Hachett Tousey, the father of famed Paugussett basket maker Molly Hatchett.

History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut, from the First ... - Page 852

books.google.com › books

William Cothren · 1872

New Runestone in Canada

Mystery Of Lord's Prayer Rock Carved In Canada In A European Language That Vanished Before Columbus

Stone circles from Quebec

The Final Proof: Megalithic Stone Circles of Canada

New Salem Chamber

From James O.

Finally made it out to the "Bears Den" Chamber in New Salem. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but the chamber appears to be built on the southeast end of a very short esker, or at least something that looks like an esker. 

I add that caveat because on the north end of the "esker" it seems as if some earth-moving has occurred to form the end into a bowl with one clear opening. I could have been convinced that this was a small but ordinary "kettle hole" in the outwash, except for the fact that the entranceway points due west and there is a very clearly artificial mount directly in the center. 

Is this truly an esker? Or is the whole raised area of human construction? I have no idea, I'm more of a bird-guy than a rock-guy. 

I didn't notice this out in the field, but the LIDAR maps show what looks to be a stone row (maybe sunken beneath the leaf litter?) running form the side of the bowl towards the wet areas along the stream.

And a photo of the "bowl", though photos never really do it justice. There also seemed to be some out of place rocks lining the inside of the bowl.

A little green argillite arrowhead

Found in coastal RI. This is like an "Atlantic" point.

This is the first time I found something made from such green argillite. The faint notches on the sides suggest a cross-lashing - an unfamiliar feature.

Friends of Pinehawk Lecture: Native Stewardship of Mother Earth

Talk is at the Acton Library: 2PM Nov 8 All the Friends of Pine Hawk programs are free but require registration. If you haven't signed up yet, you can register for this and other 2025 programs here.

Nashobah Praying Indian Grand Chief Quiet Storm will talk about how we as a community can be good stewards of the land in all spaces. She will also highlight how we can better support the pollinators and biodiversity that we rely on to sustain our life on Mother Earth.

Community Service Day
Sunday, November 9, 1-3 PM
Community Service Day gives everyone a chance to contribute to the Nashoba Brook Conservation Land's Trail Through Time in North Acton with trail and site maintenance. There will be an optional brunch beforehand at 11:30 PM. Details will be emailed to registrants a few days in advance. Limited to 25, ages 13 and up.


And more!

The Manitou Book Discussion on Thursday, November 13, at 7 PM at the Acton Memorial Library will discuss the archaeology of the region described in this ground-breaking book that introduced many to the forgotten stone structures and standing stones hidden in our woods. The Boxborough Esker Walk on Saturday, November 15, will explore some of those features mentioned in Manitou. (The walk is currently full, but a wait list sign up is available.)