I went out this morning to Opacum Woods in Sturbridge and my camera batteries did not last long. I had to use my cell phone. The site on the western shore of Opacum Pond is very complicated with many walls that criss cross and bend and turn. I want to head back there tomorrow to sketch out the site and hopefully it will be less too confusing to me.
Separately, Mike emailed this about "thick walls" at Opacum :
These three pictures are from Opacum Woods in Sturbridge, at end of Old Brook Road, West side of Opacum Pond. A stone wall heading east down an incline, toward the pond, curves and then takes a turn north and changes from a "normal" stone wall, approximately 18-24 inches thick, to a structure 8 feet thick, for approximately 28 feet, then goes back to the normal thickness.
The first photo is taken from above in a tree, south of the wall corner, looking north. Left side is uphill, right side is down hill towards the pond. The stone wall takes a corner at the bottom of the photo and changes for a length of 28 feet in length, 8 feet thick at the ends and about 4 feet thick in the middle.
The other two photos are taken from the downhill (right side) of the first photo, South is the left side and North is the right side.Has anyone seen anything like this before?
Mike H, Sturbridge
It hints at different dates for the construction of the "normal" and the "thick" walls.
ReplyDeleteI have seen thick and high walls at Milford, PA, and also at Longswamp, PA. At the latter, the wall is normal for a way, then becomes much higher and wider. I would say the height was about 12 feet or more, and the thickness about 20 feet. I have slides of this that I should scan and post. This wall was at the bottom of a field, and also bordered by a colonial road. I originally dismissed this wall as ancient because of its location, but now I wonder..
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