From Cachat-Shilling:
(1) Sacred Sites of Shutesbury, Massachusetts - YouTube
[shows a nice grid at 10:48]
This is about rock piles and stone mound sites in New England. A balance is needed between keeping them secret and making them public. Also arrowheads, stone tools and other surface archaeology.
From Cachat-Shilling:
(1) Sacred Sites of Shutesbury, Massachusetts - YouTube
[shows a nice grid at 10:48]
From an account by an early fur trader, at around 22:40 minutes in:
Mysteries of the Canadian Fur Trade: Episode 1 - YouTube
Funny how such things were common place in the 1700s.
Via Norman:
Here is a link to an upcoming video series presentation of "Hidden Landscapes".
A commenter to a post from April 20, 2009 mentions a site:
"There are some really interesting stone features off the Midstate trail in Westminster which is right off the side of RTE 2A."
I wonder if someone could please go take a look. The area seems promising:
Not rock pile related.... or is it?
A YouTube video:
The Lost Forests of New England - Eastern Old Growth - YouTube
Update:
From part 3: what is he standing on?
Norman sent this link [not rock pile related]:
https://www.juneauempire.com/news/were-blue-beads-in-the-tundra-the-first-u-s-import-from-europe/
This is about glass beads found in Alaska firmly dated to pre-Columbus times. I love this story because the standard "peopling of America" nonsense is forced to choose: either the beads got there overland from the east coast and - how the heck did they get across the Atlantic?; or the beads came from Asia and - who needs a land bridge?
Also, since the beads came from Venice, how did they get to Siberia before crossing the Pacific?
Providence, September, 20th 1823.
Prof. Silliman, Sir,
It has given me some satisfaction to become acquainted with
the particulars which Mr. Moore has given us in the last number of your
Journal, respecting the Durham Rocking Stone. It is true, as he intimates, that
there are but few rocks of this kind as yet known in our country; still, as
curiosity is continually increasing, and the votaries of geological science
daily becoming more numerous, it will not be long, it is believed, before they
will be found to exist here in considerable numbers. I have recently visited
one which is found in this State, and from its interesting character, have been
induced to forward to you a description of it, together with a drawing by Mr.
Moses Partridge
It is in the town of Warwick, about two hundred yards
south-west of the village of Apponaug, and twelve miles in the same direction
from Providence. In form, it resembles a turtle, although it is convex on the
bottom and somewhat concave on the top. It is about ten feet in length, six ^
breadth, and two in thickness. It reposes upon another rock, which rises a few
feet above ground, touching it in two points — the one under A, the other under
B. (Fig 1, Plate 1) Upon these points it is so exactly poised, that it moves
with the gentlest touch. A child five years old may set it a rocking, so that
the side C will describe an arc, the chord of which will be fifteen inches. The
easiest method to rock it is by standing upon it, and applying the weight of
one's body alternately from one side to the other.
What renders this rock peculiarly interesting is, that when
the side D descends, it gives four distinct pulsations, hitting first at E,
next at F, then at G, and lastly at H. The sound produced, is much like that of
a drum, excepting that it is louder. In consequence of this sound, it has very
appropriately entailed upon itself the name of "The Drum Rock." It
has been heard in a still evening at the distance of six miles. In the summer
season, it is a place of fashionable resort for the people of Apponaug, and of
the town generally.
The weight of this rock is estimated at four tons — upwards
of a ton heavier than the one at Kirkmichael in Scotland, and almost as heavy
as the famous Logan, in the parish of Sithney, near Helston in England. Its
composition appears to be an indurated ferruginous clay, with here and there
small portions of quartz. Its specific gravity is 2, 5. It has long been a
subject of inquiry with the inhabitants of Warwick, how this rock came here, or
by what means it was placed in its present situation. A little attention will
convince any one who sees it, that it was once united to the rock on which it
rests. Let A be turned round to I, and it will unquestionably be in the spot
where it originally belonged. But by whom it was shifted into the places which
it now occupies, is a matter of uncertainty. It has been attributed to the
Indians. The removal of such a mass seems however, to have required some
mechanical skill, more, perhaps, than many will be willing to allow, that the
savages of this region ever possessed. As we have never had any Druids* amongst
us, we shall probably never know for a certainty upon whom the honour of the
enterprize is to be bestowed.
This rock is surrounded with interesting scenery. South is a
dark and dismal swamp, which comprises from fifteen to twenty acres, containing
the birch, the hemlock, the maple and the alder. West is a side-hill, which
rises at an angle of eighteen or twenty degrees, from the top of which we have
a view of the central part of the Narragansett, with several of its beautiful
islands. East, a plain presents itself, intersected by a ravine, overgrown with
shrubs, along which flows a small stream of water from the swamp. North, the
land rises gently, and for some extent is completely covered with huge,
misshapen rocks, lying wholly above the surface ; gray with moss, and
exhibiting ten thousand fractures.
Very Respectfully yours,
STEUBEN TAYLOR.
Preceptor of the Charlesfield Street Academy.
Excerpt from: The American Journal of Science - v.7 (1824) p 200:
https://archive.org/details/mobot31753002151881/page/I/mode/2up
“The
A:shiwi have been in present-day North America for thousands of years. Twelve
thousand members of the tribe live on the Zuni Reservation today. Their sacred
lands reach far beyond the reservation boundaries—trails of prayer snake and
meander through the history of Emergence from the Grand Canyon and the story of
Salt Mother’s migration, paths of song ascend the high buttes and tumble with
the rain through the arroyo…”
I am not quite sure of the exact source for these interesting drawings from Greater
Rhode Island Roaming, accompanied by this text:
“Confluence of the Ponaganset River and the Moswansicut
River - Over the years ... via historical maps ... starting with the Providence
Purchase Lands map by George Matteson.
I was mesmerized by the Providence Purchase Land map.
Numerous spring locations, Indian paths, cornfields, quarry and burial site.
Plus, homestead locations and plot sizes. Crazy detail!! The amount of research
and effort required to build this map would BLOW.MY.MIND! 🙂
Anywho, you'll probably have to save the image onto your
computer to get the best detail.”
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=693989634603657&id=271913713477920
Reader Robert asks if anyone can identify this rock pile. It is isolated and located at the Star of the Sea Reserve in Dartmouth, MA. Specifically, at 41.5909° N / 70.9667° W
You Tube of metal detecting near rock piles.
(3) We think these are native American Indian stone piles - YouTube
Thought this might be of interest, from an old rejected article:
Variations in outline design of
rectangular mounds with hollows. Styles A-D may be tall and up to 40 feet
across; styles E-H are usually low to the ground and less than ~15 feet across.
Style I is a crescent shape, usually ~20 feet across.
Index
Type A (typical variations in size of rocks used, wall height, and overall size)You see the darnedest things. These bumps have credibility because there is a more undisturbed site in the woods fifty yards away.
From Lepper: Fort Ancient similar but different from the Newark Earthwork (newarkadvocate.com)
Thought I'd show this because - of course! - these were the people who built our rock piles. They used soil because they did not have rocks and, for some reason, they went big.By NANCY EVE COHEN • JAN 11, 2021
A cairn on Monument Mountain, where the Stockbridge
Mohicans left stones in the 1700s. It was looted in 1840 and later
reconfigured.
“The
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians today are based in Wisconsin. But
their homeland spanned the Housatonic and Hudson river valleys, and stretched
from Manhattan to northern Vermont.
Over the
decades, members of the tribe have come back to the Berkshires to protect
cultural sites…Hiking up Monument Mountain, in Great Barrington, I come across
Chris Graham, and his dog Sophie. I asked if he knows why it’s called Monument
Mountain.
"I don’t," said Graham, who hikes here often. "I know
that there’s the monument at the top of it, the inscribed rock."
That inscription describes the donation of the land to The Trustees.
But the name — "monument" — refers to something left behind by the
native people, explained retired Stockbridge police chief and local historian
Rick Wilcox.
"There is an actual pile of stones or a cairn on the far side of
the mountain. It was along the Indian trail between Great Barrington, Sheffield
and Stockbridge. They would travel by that path and when they went by it, they
would drop a rock on the pile," said Wilcox, on a walk up the mountain.
It’s considered a sacred site. But treasure-hunting vandals looted the
pile in 1840. It was later reconfigured, but it’s not well-marked. Before we
found it, Wilcox took me to the wind-swept summit.
"They call this part Squaw Peak," Wison said.
But "squaw" is now considered a derogatory slur. The
Stockbridge Mohicans have asked the Trustees to change the name to “Peeskawso,”
meaning virtuous woman. The Trustees is doing that, as well as renaming a trail
and adding signage to better reflect tribal culture.
As we descended, Wilcox pointed out the monument — the stone pile,
around 5 or 6 feet tall.
"It’s wonderful to be able to see it. And it’s unfortunate that
it was desecrated," Wilcox said. "You know, so much of their history
has been hidden or wiped out, and so this I guess is in some ways an example of
a piece of their history that was kind of brought back to life."
https://www.nepm.org/post/its-been-erased-stockbridge-mohicans-retell-reclaim-their-story-berkshires
They manage to find rock piles in Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest for comparison. Too bad they did not look in the east.
The sister of a friend writes:
These were taken [In Northhampton MA] around 11:45 am, so the sun is in the south. The front of the stone faces due north (I used my compass).
It's on the north side of a hill, facing downhill toward a wetland area, about .25 miles at the bottom of the hill (See last photo).
Above to the SW is the top of a rocky knoll. And there are many large and small boulders all the around and down the hill -- which is why this whole area is sometimes called "The rocks."
Ruff was kind enough to be my model, for perspective.
As you can see there are now that obvious human-made markings on the face of the stone,but the shape is suspiciously symmetrical.
“Check out possible Native American stone rows and stone
piles in a quick visit to the north end of this beautiful public area and
reservoir in Hudson, Massachusetts. Head into the woods with Mike Luoma and
discover some of the elaborate stonework hiding amongst the trees and along the
wetlands.
Probably the best time to experience a stone row that runs
alongside a swamp is during the winter. The water is low, it's too cold for
insects to be flying around, and the poison ivy isn't so much of a problem.
Mike's suspicions he's found an ancient indigenous stone effigy row are
rewarded by the elaborate work he finds at the end of the row's first length.
Mike believes he's also found an indigenous stone pile, as
described on the blog Rock Piles run by Peter Waksman (rockpiles.blogspot.com).
Mike credits Peter and the blog with early discoveries in stone - and a map of
stone works at Gates Pond Mike memorized for the day's excursion.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ancientstonemysteries
January:
Invisible mounds in Woods Hole. Here is one. Can you see it?
This is a stretch of Rt 62 in Concord, with the Great Meadows to the left and Hanscom Airfield to the right. About at the location of the crosshair, there is a mound of dirt. It is about 12 feet tall above the surrounding ground.
At the time, when I looked at the top of this bump, I thought someone had already been there and dug a hole in the top of it. Now I am not so sure of that interpretation. So for the record: there is a mound in Concord at about that spot. Perhaps someone will go check it out.