Each has a view of the front or side and one of the tumbled down section follows. There are similarities to the way the break down of the pile looks.
(First example)
(next example)
(last example)
Monday, June 14, 2010
More on the large oval piles from N. Stonington CT with similar damage
With reference to here. Ted Hendrickson comments on how these three examples of piles are all damaged in the same way. Is it from vandalism, from an internal hollow, just a coincidence? He writes:
Each has a view of the front or side and one of the tumbled down section follows. There are similarities to the way the break down of the pile looks.
(First example)
(next example)
(last example)
Each has a view of the front or side and one of the tumbled down section follows. There are similarities to the way the break down of the pile looks.
(First example)
(next example)(last example)
Where it is visible, the wall of the pile is pulled over and down beneath the rest of the tumble. This does not seem like a deliberate part of the structure. But Ted is right that the damage looks similar on the different piles. My vote is: vandalism.
ReplyDeleteLooks like damage from blowdowns to me.
ReplyDeleteBlowdowns is a possibility too.
ReplyDeleteSee, I'm always thinking the worst (vandalism), but that's why I need your help. I completely missed the idea of a blown down tree, which may have disintegrated long ago. In the first example, the visible remaining limb would not have been able to cause that damage in my opinion, but a large tree trunk could. Then again, I notice that the surrounding trees presently are relatively small in all cases, look like second growth, so a blow down would have been very long ago, but a distinct possibility. I have also seen a couple of very large fallen trees right across a pile that did almost no damage (except to the tree).
ReplyDeleteStay tuned. Norman and I have been exchanging emails and will post some examples from other sites. The thought is that piles often do survive direct hits from trees.
ReplyDeleteI have felled old growth trees in this part of New England for half my life. I've witnessed blow-downs and fall-downs from hurricanes, ice storms and blizzards. I've not seen a rock pile that could survive an impact from a free-falling tree.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right that many rock piles do survive because of the many variations in how trees and tree limbs fall. Tree limbs falling from ice or snow often fall very hard because they generally make a clean break high in the tree. Entire trees blowing down in a hurricane, however, occur more gradually -- often getting pushed over slowly as the the root system and earth creates a counter-weight.