Where: Acton Library (Rt 27, Acton)
Date: Thursday Oct 22
Time: 7:30 PM
From the sound of it, this is all the important tribal elders involved in ceremonial landscape protection. Be there or be square.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Articles about EMC development plan
Keith writes:
Here are a couple of articles I came across. You can see the plan photo also. Two of your sites are located where building will be! Maybe we can get a name from one of these articles on who to contact/write? It sounds like a done deal already on the layout. If you Google it you can come across other articles about this land fight.
Here are a couple of articles I came across. You can see the plan photo also. Two of your sites are located where building will be! Maybe we can get a name from one of these articles on who to contact/write? It sounds like a done deal already on the layout. If you Google it you can come across other articles about this land fight.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
EMC - threat to Indian Stone Mounds
[For affect, I am using the more inflammatory "Mound" rather than "Pile"]
Here is the EMC build-out plan (thanks to the Southborough Conservation Commission). The plan is on hold "due to the economy" but look where one of the buildings ends up.
Compare to the previous (click here).
The fact that the plan is "on hold" is sort of confusing. For example it makes you want to bet on the economy continuing to be poor. But more, how to get excited about a potential threat rather than an actual one? I don't see as it matters in theory, it means we have time to try to do the right thing. But practically, it will be hard to get people engaged in this.
Here is the EMC build-out plan (thanks to the Southborough Conservation Commission). The plan is on hold "due to the economy" but look where one of the buildings ends up.
Compare to the previous (click here).The fact that the plan is "on hold" is sort of confusing. For example it makes you want to bet on the economy continuing to be poor. But more, how to get excited about a potential threat rather than an actual one? I don't see as it matters in theory, it means we have time to try to do the right thing. But practically, it will be hard to get people engaged in this.
EMC threatens Indian Sacred Stone Mounds in Southborough, MA
I am just going to keep posting about this to keep it "front and center" as we learn more about the threat to the sites between Gilmore Rd and Rt 9 in Southborough. EMC, a large corporation that owns the land, has an approved development plan to build a road, and I do not know what all, in an area with some very nice rock pile sites. [Click here and scroll down for some pics]
Once more of the facts are available I propose to do what I can to facilitate the expansion avoiding the key sites. So can you please help? Here is what I am contemplating:
1) fliers
2) educational initiatives
3) protests
4) contacting the media
5) contacting the bigs guys (the Narragansett and Wampanoag).
Sunday, October 18, 2009
No Less Sacred
APPENDIX D ARCHEOLOGICAL FEATURES
(FROM PETERSON 2003)
(FROM PETERSON 2003)
Burials
"Traditionalists do not regard burials as archaeological sites or historic properties. They see them as the final resting places of people, and as such, they should be treated with respect. Burial types commonly found in central North Dakota include cairn, mound and historic box burials. Burial cairns are generally large (10+ ft) and tend to be located on the highest points in the area. Conical mounds commonly contain more than one burial. Historic grave types included subsurface interment of individuals with or without caskets. Sometimes caskets were put in crevices and sometimes left out on the surface (Lippincott 1987). “Burial sites are sometimes used as vision quest localities and may on occasion contain sacred objects such as medicine bundles” (Deaver 1986:117). Offerings, such as prayer stones, beads, and tobacco, may also be left at burials. Not all burials, however, have physical markers, and therefore, some may be difficult to identify.
"Traditionalists do not regard burials as archaeological sites or historic properties. They see them as the final resting places of people, and as such, they should be treated with respect. Burial types commonly found in central North Dakota include cairn, mound and historic box burials. Burial cairns are generally large (10+ ft) and tend to be located on the highest points in the area. Conical mounds commonly contain more than one burial. Historic grave types included subsurface interment of individuals with or without caskets. Sometimes caskets were put in crevices and sometimes left out on the surface (Lippincott 1987). “Burial sites are sometimes used as vision quest localities and may on occasion contain sacred objects such as medicine bundles” (Deaver 1986:117). Offerings, such as prayer stones, beads, and tobacco, may also be left at burials. Not all burials, however, have physical markers, and therefore, some may be difficult to identify.
Human remains do not need to be present for a location to be a final resting place. Cairns are sometimes made to ensure that a person returns. If that individual should die while away from his homeland, the cairn will ensure that the spirit will return to its home. Those markers without human remains are no less sacred than those that are associated with human remains..."
http://www.mt.blm.gov/ndfo/pages/coteau/appendixd.pdf.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Fall colors at Marble Hill - Stow, MA
There is more than enough to study on at this hill in Stow MA, but let me just show some pictures from there of the nice colors last weekend.
I thought there was only one site on this hill but walking around the lower right part of the hill and then up the backside, there were rock piles pretty much non-stop.
I thought there was only one site on this hill but walking around the lower right part of the hill and then up the backside, there were rock piles pretty much non-stop.
Small Marker Pile cluster on Marble Hill
Probably only one of many such on this hill, a small cluster of lined up, evenly spaced rock piles. Over on the lower right-hand side of the hill somewhere. It is a bit hard to see in this lighting.
Look at the rocks:
Look at the rocks:
"In the gunsight" - openings intersected
Sometimes a split feature has something else lined up "in the sights" (so to speak). For example what I failed to photograph here and also in this photo from the backside of Marble Hill Stow. 
This very large rock-on-rock is on the midline of the split in the background.
This very large rock-on-rock is on the midline of the split in the background.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Critical Mass and Blogs re-enforcing each other
I link permanently to blogs that are about subjects discussed on this one and am quite pleased Tim MacSweeney found Tispaquin's Revenge (unless contact was made in the other direction first). But more than 1/2 the blogs listed over there on the right of the screen have not changed in at least a year. So the active blogs are getting a bit obscured by the inactive ones - the list could be shortened and it is tempting to remove the inactive ones from the list. Any thoughts?
I feel that the active blogs re-enforce each other. I get a little extra readership from Larry or from Tim and (I believe) they get some extra readers from here. Somewhere along the line we might achieve the kind of critical mass where anyone interested in the outdoors and certain topics would know about all of these blogs. We could rule the world!
I feel that the active blogs re-enforce each other. I get a little extra readership from Larry or from Tim and (I believe) they get some extra readers from here. Somewhere along the line we might achieve the kind of critical mass where anyone interested in the outdoors and certain topics would know about all of these blogs. We could rule the world!
Propped boulders and Manitou stones - slideshow from Larry Harrop
Norman Muller calls attention to this link to a slideshow of Larry Harrop's:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=larhar2#p/u/0/4E-DEwzwnck
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=larhar2#p/u/0/4E-DEwzwnck
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Gap Piles
I have written about piles that make a space, either with a rock or with another pile. The space, which I am calling a "gap" would be wide enough to walk through and often is angled to open towards water. Here is an example from Marble Hill, Stow
Closer:
Can one compare this to a split rock? Some other examples here.
UPDATE: I should mention that often some interesting object or feature appears directly along the midline of the gap.
Closer:
Can one compare this to a split rock? Some other examples here.UPDATE: I should mention that often some interesting object or feature appears directly along the midline of the gap.
Stone Pile in Winslow, Maine
"...a small, curious array of large (12 inch dia.) stones that were obviously placed there...tightly clustered in a roughly square pavement with no central pit."
Overhead view of stone pavement showing what appears to be its original rectangular structure trending from the bottom right to upper left. This is the only surface congregation of large stones in the entire 4-5 acre bench at this habitation site (Evidence of a Prehistoric Pottery Kiln, Sebasticoo... ).
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
EMC expansion threatens rock pile sites
Since the site is heading for destruction, it makes sense to publish a map:
This is the area of Southborough between Rt 9 and Gilmore Rd. The leftmost outline is a fine rock pile site with some large piles and some obvious alignments. The middle outline is along the edge of the wetland (where the first site is continued up to the head of the valley). The right hand outline is at the top of the hill, next to a landing strip. Aside from the hilltop, go in via the access road from Rt 9 and the piles are just into the woods on the right. The hilltop can be reached from Rt 9 or from Gilmore Rd.
So, if you are not from around there, go take a look. It is a fine collection of sites that may vanish. Take pictures, survey, capture what you can. But if you are from around there, get ready to help inform EMC corporation and the Town of Southborough Historic commission that they should plan their new road so as to avoid destroying valuable historic structures.
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