Patterns here which you, the reader, might detect. I cannot quite see them. You notice little lines through the woods in the photos. And directionality like this:
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
More pics from "Above the Falls"
Patterns here which you, the reader, might detect. I cannot quite see them. You notice little lines through the woods in the photos. And directionality like this:
Monday, December 11, 2006
Faintest of traces at the Blue Hill Reservation
Supposedly "Massachusetts" means something like "Big Hill" or maybe "massive" "chusett". This is a reference to Blue Hill which is the largest and most prominent hill in Eastern Mass. It is visible from far out at sea and is clearly a major landmark around here - so it should have its share of ceremonialism left over from earlier days. Unfortunately the woods there are completely trashed out - signs of quarrying, old 19th century roads, woods so trampled as to support minimal undergrowth. It has been a city park for too long.
Bruce and I went to do a little exploring at the Blue Hill Reservation, an externsive conservation land surrounding the hill, and ended up finding a few rock-on-rocks here, a solitary rock pile there, a collection of so badly damaged piles that they could have just been ledge rock, fragmented by frost. Anyway, at one point, we came up to a small waterfall and, since in my experience that is good spot to look for ceremonial structures, we looked very carefully there. As you will see, there was one solitary pile marking the location. This is the best we could get from these woods.
Still I have a sneaking suspicion there are rock pile sites somewhere in there. But I just don't have the time to keep looking for them - there are much better places to look out further west. For now anyway, that is it for Blue Hill.
Bruce and I went to do a little exploring at the Blue Hill Reservation, an externsive conservation land surrounding the hill, and ended up finding a few rock-on-rocks here, a solitary rock pile there, a collection of so badly damaged piles that they could have just been ledge rock, fragmented by frost. Anyway, at one point, we came up to a small waterfall and, since in my experience that is good spot to look for ceremonial structures, we looked very carefully there. As you will see, there was one solitary pile marking the location. This is the best we could get from these woods.
Still I have a sneaking suspicion there are rock pile sites somewhere in there. But I just don't have the time to keep looking for them - there are much better places to look out further west. For now anyway, that is it for Blue Hill.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Old North Trail
by JimP
The above photo is from an article about the Old North Trail in Montana -- they call it America's earliest highway. There is some very interesting discussion of rock piles. [Click here] to read the article.
The above photo is from an article about the Old North Trail in Montana -- they call it America's earliest highway. There is some very interesting discussion of rock piles. [Click here] to read the article.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Moving large stones - Michigan Stonehenge
Larry Harrop reminds me that this link may be of interest. It is about a guy in Michigan using ropes and levers to single-handedly move huge rocks. All it takes is balance and finesse. He is building a "Stonehenge" by himself. So check out these videos if you haven't seen them already.
Flint man solves the mystery of Stonehenge
Try this one here.
SORRY LINKS BROKEN
http://michiganisamazing.com/index.php/2006/08/01/stonehenge_reloaded
Video http://www.exn.ca/news/video/exn2003/10/21/exn20031021-stonehenge.asx
Flint man solves the mystery of Stonehenge
Try this one here.
SORRY LINKS BROKEN
http://michiganisamazing.com/index.php/2006/08/01/stonehenge_reloaded
Video http://www.exn.ca/news/video/exn2003/10/21/exn20031021-stonehenge.asx
A typical breakout zone site on the side of a hill
Just a bit further south and west of the previous site in Harvard, I followed a gully uphill to a "breakout zone": in this case a place where water comes out of the side of a hill and erosion has stripped away the soil, leaving some small boulders exposed. It is expected that you find a minor rock pile site at such a place. Quoting from my Journal:
...I came up to an area I had explored before and I followed a gully uphill to its place of origin and found some very minor breakout zone type features, as I expected. There are about four rockpiles in this picture but they are not visible in the photo.
Along one edge of the zone there were three rock-on-rocks. Here are two of them:
And at the center of the breakout zone there were five or six very minor piles. Here are two:
...I came up to an area I had explored before and I followed a gully uphill to its place of origin and found some very minor breakout zone type features, as I expected. There are about four rockpiles in this picture but they are not visible in the photo.
Along one edge of the zone there were three rock-on-rocks. Here are two of them:
And at the center of the breakout zone there were five or six very minor piles. Here are two:
I think this kind of site is predictable and my guess is that its purpose is to utilize the energy of the place where water is coming out of the ground.
Here are low grade video clips of this place, which I posted earlier this week [Click here]
Here are low grade video clips of this place, which I posted earlier this week [Click here]
A questionable site southwest of Bellevue Cemetery - Harvard, MA
This site isn't going anywhere so I think it is OK to mention it's location. Also, I was perplexed about how ceremonial this was since the rocks seemed dumped pretty un-ceremoniously. Also there was a quarried outcrop fifty yards a way as well as a colonial stone bridge. So this area got plenty of non-ceremonial traffic over the years. On the other hand the site is a slope running down to a wetland, with a view to the southwest in a spot which is charming. Here is another poor-quality video clip:Thursday, December 07, 2006
"Indian religious rock pile" links
Got this from a visitor log. Check these out (includes ones I just posted below...I got tired of doing them separately)
[Click here]
[Click here]
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Menotomy Rocks Park - Arlington, MA (Part Two)
by JimP (see part one)
It is easy to dismiss such heavily-used parks like Menotomy Rocks Park -- they're simply too disturbed to find any conclusive evidence. A swamp that was once here, for example, was dug out and turned into a farmer's irrigation pond in the 19th century. That pond is used today for ice skating.
But I still wanted to see what kind of ancient evidence might be left. We know that Indian artifacts were indeed found in this park many decades ago. But might there still be something here? The very top of the most prominent rocky hilltop in the park is littered with small loose stones. After talking with a geologist familiar with the park, he could offer no solid explanation for how all this loose rock got up here.
There are also many hints that piles or structures were once here, like the following two piles.
And then there was a curious row of boulders that climbed up and down this prominent hilltop:
I was left with the impression that what I was looking at were the remains of an ancient stonework complex on a comparatively large scale. It appears the structures that once stood here may have been toppled during the Puritan era, and then over the following generations the stones were picked through for use in surrounding foundations, cellars, outbuildings, and stone walls as Arlington moved into widescale subsistence farming.
Do I know all of this for certain? Definitely not. It is merely conjecture on my part. But when you combine the Native history with the colonial history, and put together a picture of what this place might have been used for in ancient times, I think there is little doubt this was a very sacred spiritual site. And the possibility that stonework structures once existed here is not too far-fetched. In fact, I think it is the only explanation that makes complete sense -- Devil's Den, talus cave, loose stone, evidence of piles and structures, rows of boulders -- sure looks like it to me.
It is easy to dismiss such heavily-used parks like Menotomy Rocks Park -- they're simply too disturbed to find any conclusive evidence. A swamp that was once here, for example, was dug out and turned into a farmer's irrigation pond in the 19th century. That pond is used today for ice skating.
But I still wanted to see what kind of ancient evidence might be left. We know that Indian artifacts were indeed found in this park many decades ago. But might there still be something here? The very top of the most prominent rocky hilltop in the park is littered with small loose stones. After talking with a geologist familiar with the park, he could offer no solid explanation for how all this loose rock got up here.
There are also many hints that piles or structures were once here, like the following two piles.And then there was a curious row of boulders that climbed up and down this prominent hilltop:I was left with the impression that what I was looking at were the remains of an ancient stonework complex on a comparatively large scale. It appears the structures that once stood here may have been toppled during the Puritan era, and then over the following generations the stones were picked through for use in surrounding foundations, cellars, outbuildings, and stone walls as Arlington moved into widescale subsistence farming.Do I know all of this for certain? Definitely not. It is merely conjecture on my part. But when you combine the Native history with the colonial history, and put together a picture of what this place might have been used for in ancient times, I think there is little doubt this was a very sacred spiritual site. And the possibility that stonework structures once existed here is not too far-fetched. In fact, I think it is the only explanation that makes complete sense -- Devil's Den, talus cave, loose stone, evidence of piles and structures, rows of boulders -- sure looks like it to me.
Menotomy Rocks Park - Arlington, MA (Part One)
by JimP
Once called Cambridge Rocks, Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington sits smack dab in the middle of heavily populated neighborhoods.
The earliest known name of this area was the Devil's Den. A very Indian-like myth is associated with that name -- being based around the notion that the, "devil" dropped rocks while walking through here. The devil, in this case, was likely a demonized version of the Native healing spirit, sometimes called Chepi or Hobbamocho. According to historical records of Narragansett spirituality, this healing spirit was associated with dark, windy places, such as the talus (jumbled boulder) caves that are so common in New England.
I remembered reading a page on Dan Boudillion's website that was a Glossary of Lithic Constructions in New England. In that glossary Dan lists, "Devil's Den," as being associated with talus caves, and says there are dozens of such sites all over New England. Suddenly things started to click, so I began talking with historians in Arlington about Menotomy Rocks Park and the possible presence of a cave. But I hit a brick wall. No one had ever heard of a cave ever being present in the park. I searched for it, but to no avail.
But being persistent, I began setting up interviews with older folks in the town who had been to the park often when they were children. When I asked the very first person I interviewed about a cave, he said, "Oh, yes. There was a cave. The neighborhood kids would hide out in it when they ran away from home or played hookey from school."
Armed with this new information and the approximate location, I went back again to the park to search for the cave. Sure enough, I found it. Here is the cave entrance:
At some point over the last 60-plus years, someone decided to eliminate what they felt was an attractive nuisance, and the cave was filled in with dirt and small rocks. A closer look at the entrance reveals the mound of dirt that now fills in the cave:
Although there is no way to know for sure, it appears on inspection that this cave was once quite deep and could even have been large enough for several adults to stand inside at one point in time.
Delighted by the prospect that I could've hit on a very ancient sacred Indian site, I started to look at the rest of the park to see what else I could find. Some of the more interesting features was this double-depression:
In addition, there is a wonderful boulder situated on the side of a hill in a such a way that the depression in the top is level and collects rain water
But what about rock piles? I'll leave that to Part Two.
Once called Cambridge Rocks, Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington sits smack dab in the middle of heavily populated neighborhoods.
The earliest known name of this area was the Devil's Den. A very Indian-like myth is associated with that name -- being based around the notion that the, "devil" dropped rocks while walking through here. The devil, in this case, was likely a demonized version of the Native healing spirit, sometimes called Chepi or Hobbamocho. According to historical records of Narragansett spirituality, this healing spirit was associated with dark, windy places, such as the talus (jumbled boulder) caves that are so common in New England.I remembered reading a page on Dan Boudillion's website that was a Glossary of Lithic Constructions in New England. In that glossary Dan lists, "Devil's Den," as being associated with talus caves, and says there are dozens of such sites all over New England. Suddenly things started to click, so I began talking with historians in Arlington about Menotomy Rocks Park and the possible presence of a cave. But I hit a brick wall. No one had ever heard of a cave ever being present in the park. I searched for it, but to no avail.
But being persistent, I began setting up interviews with older folks in the town who had been to the park often when they were children. When I asked the very first person I interviewed about a cave, he said, "Oh, yes. There was a cave. The neighborhood kids would hide out in it when they ran away from home or played hookey from school."
Armed with this new information and the approximate location, I went back again to the park to search for the cave. Sure enough, I found it. Here is the cave entrance:
At some point over the last 60-plus years, someone decided to eliminate what they felt was an attractive nuisance, and the cave was filled in with dirt and small rocks. A closer look at the entrance reveals the mound of dirt that now fills in the cave:Although there is no way to know for sure, it appears on inspection that this cave was once quite deep and could even have been large enough for several adults to stand inside at one point in time.Delighted by the prospect that I could've hit on a very ancient sacred Indian site, I started to look at the rest of the park to see what else I could find. Some of the more interesting features was this double-depression:
In addition, there is a wonderful boulder situated on the side of a hill in a such a way that the depression in the top is level and collects rain waterBut what about rock piles? I'll leave that to Part Two.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Elongated oval piles Sterling/Leominster
As I was driving south of Leominster State Forest, I saw some elongated oval piles next to the road shaped something like this (I exaggerated the shape slightly):
These were maybe 8 to 10 feet long. I was reminded of much larger piles from Petersham, sent in by a reader [Click here]. These smaller ones are different from anything I have seen in more eastern Middlesex County, and quite nice looking and suggestive. Here are some pictures:
Perhaps these have all been tumbled down from some previous shape but, if so, it is symmetric dammage. These above piles are very similar but there were also some smaller piles.
There, out on the west side of the Nashua River, I got a faint whiff of a different aesthetic than the one which built rock piles here on the east side of the river. So I am proposing that the Nashua River is a boundary.
These were maybe 8 to 10 feet long. I was reminded of much larger piles from Petersham, sent in by a reader [Click here]. These smaller ones are different from anything I have seen in more eastern Middlesex County, and quite nice looking and suggestive. Here are some pictures:
Perhaps these have all been tumbled down from some previous shape but, if so, it is symmetric dammage. These above piles are very similar but there were also some smaller piles.
There, out on the west side of the Nashua River, I got a faint whiff of a different aesthetic than the one which built rock piles here on the east side of the river. So I am proposing that the Nashua River is a boundary.Monday, December 04, 2006
Small explorations in Sterling, MA - a Wachusett facing hiltop
I did find a small site in there on the side of a hill looking out towards Wachusett. At first I saw just a few too many rock-on-rocks and, although they were very minor, I looked around carefully and discovered it was a small site. Here are a couple of the rock-on-rocks:
Seeing this pile convinced my that, yes, this is a rock pile site:
Here are a couple more from in there:
Finally, here is what you see looking outward:
After a bit more poking around, I headed back north to my car.For comparison, see what I was saying here about hilltop sites [Click here].
[Update: oops! the link leads to a description of a site which, as I look at the pictures, is exactly the same site as the one I describe above. I guess I came up on it from the south last time.]
Or for the general topic of Wachusett [Click here]
Small Explorations in Sterling, MA - Quartz in the Wall
When the hill I hoped to explore turned out to be in-accessible because of the clearly posted No Trespassing signs, I found myself again on Upper North Row Rd heading west. So I decided to explore more south of the road along one of the Sterling Conservation Land trails I knew about. As I walked south, following a stone wall I noticed what looked like a rectangular enclosure built out from the stone wall: 
It looked like it was not wall damage. On the other hand there is a rock in the middle of the enclosure which would make sense if it is true that a rock is placed in the middle of the enclosure after a ceremony is completed. But then as I took a closer look I noticed this chunk of quartz in the wall at the back of the enclosure.
As I continued exploring in there I found that quartz pretty much comes with the territory out here and I was not able to convince myself that quartz in the wall was deliberate or just the random use of materials. Somewhere in there, along the road indicated by the dashed line, I came to a section of wall that seemed to have one or more pieces of quartz every twelve paces. But I could not tell if this was ceremonial:
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Saturday, December 02, 2006
NEARA field trip to Carlisle - Dec 9
If you are interested, and a NEARA member, you probably got an email already. If you are not a NEARA member and are interested in going, contact me and I'll see if you can be included. The trip features:
- Great Brook Farms Summer Solstice Turtle
- Conant Land Cairns and Turtles
- Spring Hill Rock Pile Grid
Friday, December 01, 2006
Sheffield MA Cairn Site
Norman Muller writes in:
Somewhere in Sheffield, which is just east of Great Barrington, is a cairn site. Dennis Sears, who lives in Sheffield, has taken some photos of the cairns which I am attaching to this message. It looks like a very interesting area, wherever it is. The photo of the split boulder with the stone fill was taken by a friend of Mr. Sears, Lion Miles of Stockbridge.
Somewhere in Sheffield, which is just east of Great Barrington, is a cairn site. Dennis Sears, who lives in Sheffield, has taken some photos of the cairns which I am attaching to this message. It looks like a very interesting area, wherever it is. The photo of the split boulder with the stone fill was taken by a friend of Mr. Sears, Lion Miles of Stockbridge.
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