More than ten years ago, I was alerted by a geologist with the PA Geological Survey of some unusual cairns in Knoxlyn, PA, about five miles west of Gettysburg. I obtained the address of the landowner, and then I and a few friends drove to Knoxlyn to see and photograph the cairns.
It turns out that the landowner's grandfather built the cairns in retirement. The lack of moss or lichen buildup on the stones was a clue that they were recently constructed.
3 comments :
Most importantly, was he also diagnosed with dementia??
The problem with hearsay is that you have unanswered questions: How am I to know whether the grandfather restored existing cairns or built new ones? Where did the materials come from?
You believe what you want to believe. I am happy to believe some modern person reconstructed some cairns. I could even believe they built a few from scratch. But this is not a way to explain thousands of similar sites. Since there is no way this demented uncle got around to that extent, it is clear that they were, at best, imitating something they had seen somewhere.
I am reminded of the Minor Farm cairn.
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