PA Rock Piles....here somewhere

 Have We Finally Found It? ~ Ghost Village Searching

You just know this guy is going to pass rock piles. The question is: will he say something intelligent about them?

The Indian Cave just below Tousi Road (Hatchett Tousey, Atchetouset, Hatchatowsuck, Hatchatousset )

.   “In the spring of 1996, I was shown what is known locally as the “Indian Cave.” It’s a little over two miles upriver from the floodplains that were the cornfields used by a band of local Native Americans whom local history documents as living there between 1672/1673 and the early 1700’s. A tributary branch of the river that flows through the floodplain, known as the East Spring (or Sprane) Brook, cuts through a large outcrop of bedrock, creating a zigzag ravine shadowed by hemlocks. Boulders in the stream create many pools, the largest of which was right below “Indian Cave,” before an intense summer thunderstorm caused flooding that filled the pool with stones and debris. I tended to think of it as “Plunge Pool” and imagined people leaving the Pissepunk and jumping into this pool. The “cave” is on the west bank, about six feet above the brook. It bears some resemblance to an overhanging glacial cave, perhaps a very small “rockshelter” in the approximately forty-foot almost vertical rock face. There are no obvious marks of any metal stone cutting tools or drills but I think it possible that it may have been quarried to its present size. From the brook to the floor of the “cave” there appears to be rows of stone piled and even “chinked” or mortared with clay (there was a large deposit of clay a short distance upstream) that still remains deep within this sort of “retaining wall” just beyond the drip line of the overhang. The deep pool below the “cave” seems filled with stones that fell from the wall over time, as if the “cave” itself was walled at one time.” From: https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2007/01/indian-cave.html

    On December 7, 2025, I just happened to re-read a passage from William Cothren’s History of Ancient Woodbury Connecticut that included place names related to the town’s past, including “Tousey” which “lies north-west of William Hayes' house, in the south-east part of Bethlehem, and is so called from a Christian Indian, who lived there for a time. His full name was Hatchet Tousey. A further account of him will be found on page 101.” I don’t know why it took almost thirty years for me to realize that the probable stone sweat lodge or pissepunk known locally as the Indian Cave just below the end of present day Tousi Road was related to Hachett Tousey, the father of famed Paugussett basket maker Molly Hatchett.

History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut, from the First ... - Page 852

books.google.com › books

William Cothren · 1872

New Runestone in Canada

Mystery Of Lord's Prayer Rock Carved In Canada In A European Language That Vanished Before Columbus

Stone circles from Quebec

The Final Proof: Megalithic Stone Circles of Canada

New Salem Chamber

From James O.

Finally made it out to the "Bears Den" Chamber in New Salem. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but the chamber appears to be built on the southeast end of a very short esker, or at least something that looks like an esker. 

I add that caveat because on the north end of the "esker" it seems as if some earth-moving has occurred to form the end into a bowl with one clear opening. I could have been convinced that this was a small but ordinary "kettle hole" in the outwash, except for the fact that the entranceway points due west and there is a very clearly artificial mount directly in the center. 

Is this truly an esker? Or is the whole raised area of human construction? I have no idea, I'm more of a bird-guy than a rock-guy. 

I didn't notice this out in the field, but the LIDAR maps show what looks to be a stone row (maybe sunken beneath the leaf litter?) running form the side of the bowl towards the wet areas along the stream.

And a photo of the "bowl", though photos never really do it justice. There also seemed to be some out of place rocks lining the inside of the bowl.

A little green argillite arrowhead

Found in coastal RI. This is like an "Atlantic" point.

This is the first time I found something made from such green argillite. The faint notches on the sides suggest a cross-lashing - an unfamiliar feature.

Friends of Pinehawk Lecture: Native Stewardship of Mother Earth

Talk is at the Acton Library: 2PM Nov 8 All the Friends of Pine Hawk programs are free but require registration. If you haven't signed up yet, you can register for this and other 2025 programs here.

Nashobah Praying Indian Grand Chief Quiet Storm will talk about how we as a community can be good stewards of the land in all spaces. She will also highlight how we can better support the pollinators and biodiversity that we rely on to sustain our life on Mother Earth.

Community Service Day
Sunday, November 9, 1-3 PM
Community Service Day gives everyone a chance to contribute to the Nashoba Brook Conservation Land's Trail Through Time in North Acton with trail and site maintenance. There will be an optional brunch beforehand at 11:30 PM. Details will be emailed to registrants a few days in advance. Limited to 25, ages 13 and up.


And more!

The Manitou Book Discussion on Thursday, November 13, at 7 PM at the Acton Memorial Library will discuss the archaeology of the region described in this ground-breaking book that introduced many to the forgotten stone structures and standing stones hidden in our woods. The Boxborough Esker Walk on Saturday, November 15, will explore some of those features mentioned in Manitou. (The walk is currently full, but a wait list sign up is available.)

An active turtle head

Thinking of Tim M:

From The Hidden Mystery in the Rocks of Andahuaylas / The Petroglyphs of Sachapucro.

My Drive to Nevada and back

 Just so I do not forget the basic details: I drove to Pittsburgh and spent the next day driving back 300 miles to get a credit card I lost, then returning to Pittsburgh. The next day I chased the sun all day but he beat me over the horizon and I just kept driving from Pittsburgh to Columbus Ohio, then southwest to Cincinatti and Louisville Ky. I crossed the Mississippi at Cairo Illinois, turned sought through Missouri - where I started seeing cottonfields - and then Arkansas and Rt 40 West. I was getting tired and pulled over into a rest stop in western Arkansas. I slept OK in my car, peeing right out in the open late at night. The next day I did the same all day of driving, crossing OK, a bit of Texas, and most of New Mexico, till I got to Grants, where I spent the night in the parking lot of a Navajo Walmart. Next day got me all the way to my campsite.

At camp at Wamp Springs Trail (1/2 mile in) and plagued by much wind messing up my tarp. Spent two days walking around and sitting around waiting for dark. At night, the wind howled, flapped the tarp, and rocked the car. Knowing it would be impossible to sleep, I slept pretty well. I re-positioned the car and had less noise but not much less wind the next night. After two nights I upped camp and spent the morning at the glacial lake "hillocks" south of Coyote Spring. I found one broken base, not too diagnostic for me.

There is an extra little glacial lake there and I wanted to explore the north end, and took a dirt road, Sawmill Rd, east from 93 over to the broken-up land that I thought worth exploring. Well, that drive became hair-raising when the road was up on the top of the hillocks, winding past steep 20' gulllies with little road to spare and some foot-deep ruts in the road. After that little adventure, I drove back south to the access road to my little hill. Trying to setup camp with the car blocking the wind at the best angle, had me rearranging the pegs and guy ropes 3 times. But I got settled in, had coffee, had whiskey, had some corned beef hash with ketchup. I brought WAY more food than I had any intention of cooking. The next day, I explored the hill more carefully than usual, especially on the northeastern slope. Across from there, on the southwestern slope, I did find some slightly diamond-shaped bifaces. Two of them, at most 2 inches long.. These were as close as I got to realizing my dream of finding more Solutrean blades out there.

Turns out, camping alone is no fun. Who knew? After a day at my little hill, I upped camp, drove down into Las Vegas, and spent the night at the same hotel I usually stay at: the Cannery on East Craig Rd. I was able to review my route back home but it did not really matter because I ended up sleeping at other rest stops that I could not have planned. I spent the first night west of Amarillo at a truck parking stop; with the most intense stink of cow manure that I have ever experienced. Even if I kind-of like the smell, I feel sorry for that part of Texas. From Amarillo, I just continued east, back past Oklahoma City, Fort Smith Arkansas, Little Rock Arkansas, north across the Mississippi at Cairo, and on to a rest stop at Beaver Dam Kentucky.

All the way along, going and coming back, I was plagued by not being able to charge my phone reliably. When I was camping, there was no signal, and I never did figure out a reliable charging strategy. Primarily because I needed that little extra white box for iPhone charging. The only thing that worked was running my laptop from the car and charging my phone from the laptop. It did not work well and I had become more and more reliant on Siri getting me to the right route. Turning Siri on and off to save battery, while trying to get through the mess of roads and hidden bridges in Cairo was no fun. I spent about an hour being lost and Siri rescured me at the end. So I got into Kentucky and on to that rest area. It poured very hard that night and I sat at the Beaver Dam rest area, really enjoying the coziness of my little bed setup in the back of my Rav4. But my computer stopped working and stopped charging the phone, so I barely got back to Pittsburgh with Siri's support. I will say that some of Siri's instructions are insane. She'll take you off a highway into a bunch of neighborhood streets and then back onto the same highway. I had to fight with her hard, to get south onto Rt 95 in CT. Before that, I got back to Pittsburgh and spent a nice visit with the Raatz-Vargas family. So it was 4 days driving out, and 4 days driving back. I ask myself: what was the point. I think there was one and did eventually shrug off the sense that my pain was appropriate to the guilt I felt. My car's "Maintenance Required" light came on - I changed the oil in Pittsburgh on the way out but it has been more than 5K miles of driving and was time to go again. 

I was feeling pretty down when I got home but some food, shower, and sleeping in a familiar bed, with my wife nearby, are helping get things back to something like normal. Then my new PC arrived and its like Christmas.

I'll tell you a poetic thought from the road: It is afternoon and you are driving past some red boulders in a field. Each boulder makes a dark shadow in the bright light. Then you see some shadows that are not attached to boulders - they are black cows - shadows without a source.

Ancient Nipmuc Mishoonash at Lake Quinsigamond

Thursday, October 9, 7 PM, at the Acton Memorial Library

This is a reminder that the first 2025 Fall Friends of Pine Hawk talk, "Ancient Nipmuc Mishoonash at Lake Quinsigamond" by Cheryl Stedtler, is this Thursday. 

All the Friends of Pine Hawk programs are free, but require registration. If you haven't signed up yet, you can register for this and other 2025 programs here.

The full Friends of Pine Hawk 2025 Fall Program is on our website.

The 2025 Fall Program is presented with support from the Acton Memorial Library and Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

NEARA- Fall conferences in Masschusetts

[From Peter Anick]

Dear Massachusetts chapter members,

   As you have probably heard by now, the fall NEARA conference will be held in Massachusetts at Bridgewater State University (November 7-9). We have been fortunate to assemble a great group of speakers, covering a range of subjects from drystone wall construction and lithic sourcing to Native American history and culture, petroglyphs, the nature of sacred sites, and evidence of lunar alignments at the Cahokia mound complex.

   The greater Bridgewater area is home to many sites with historic Native American connections which we will be exploring during our talks and field trips. Some of these sites I only visited for the first time while preparing for the conference. So whether you are a new member or an “old-timer”, there will be plenty to see in this area.

  Hopefully, many of you can take advantage of the home-state location to attend. It is at conferences that we have the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, welcome new members, make new friends, and share our interests and discoveries. I will try to reserve some tables during lunch at the BSU cafeteria for us all to get together and chat.

  Hotels in this part of the state are not cheap, although we worked to get a “reasonable” rate at the Holiday Inn in Middleboro. If you live within commuting distance of the venue, you could consider driving in each day. For those further away, please make sure to reserve rooms while the room block is still available. You will also need to sign up for the banquet in advance, so that the venue knows how many will be eating there. And if you can’t join us for the banquet, you are welcome to come in after the meal to hear the keynote speaker.

  All the details about the conference and registration are available online at https://neara.org/conferences/2025-11-07.html . Non-members are welcome to attend, so feel free to invite your curious friends. Instructions for joining field trips will be sent to registered attendees about a week prior to the conference.

 

Hope to see you there!

Peter Anick (Massachusetts state coordinator) 

Annual Friends of Pine Hawk Fall Programs begin Oct. 9

The Friends of Pine Annual Hawk Fall Programs begin soon. From early October through mid-November, there are talks, walks, and a community service day that you won't want to miss.

Our series starts October 9 with the rare opportunity to hear Cheryl Stedtler, archaeologist and enrolled citizen of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band, talk about the Nipmuc mishoonash—large dugout canoes—found in Lake Quinsigamond.

The full program and descriptions are on our website. A printable copy of the program descriptions is here. 

All the programs are free, but require registration. 

Please email questions to friends.of.pinehawk@gmail.com.

The Friends of Pine Hawk 2025 Programs are presented with support from Acton Memorial Library and Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

Restoring Waramaug's Monument (New Milford CT)

New Milford and state to honor Native American chief by restoring monument at Lover’s Leap

By Kaitlin Keane, Staff Writer

Sep 15, 2025

 

NEW MILFORD (CT) – More than two centuries have passed since the monument honoring Native American Chief Waramaug at his burial site in Lovers Leap State Park was dismantled.

“He was a rock star, he really was,” Julie Stuart, executive director of the Bridgewater Land Trust, said at the recent Town Council meeting. “People have cheered at the idea of putting something back to honor his history there..."

 I do know that the Sachem Waramaug/Waraumaug/Warramaug/Raumaug probably did not wear a "Plain's Headdress," as shown in the image.

I don't know who has been consulted about this rebuilding of a Stone Prayer from the Native Community, along with all the great number of things I don't know much about.…

See more:

Waking Up on Turtle Island: Sachem Waramaug's Monument (in the local CT news)

 [From reader James O.]

A few weeks ago I bushwhacked some distance to a relatively inaccessible ridgeline in Harvard along 495. I felt pretty happy with my site-selection once I reached the top of the hill, where I found some very distinct rock piles. 

Farther down the ridge, I found what looks like a small stone chamber built against the protruding bedrock. Not big enough to enter, but if you stick your head in you are greeted with a sky-light. 

Colorado Stone Walls

I was not aware of this example:

Why have people been coming up here for 4,000 years?

Link to Pomperaug's Village (Woodbury CT)

 Envisioning Pomperaug's Village

In the "Long Lots" of Fairfield CT

Above from: The Deer Path “Stone Wall” (Weston CT) Part One

https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-deer-path-stone-wall-weston-ct-part.html

Below from: The Deer Path “Stone Wall” (Weston CT) Part Two

https://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-deer-path-stonewall-weston-ct-part.html

Above: Old Map

Below: the new CT LiDAR viewer

https://maps.cteco.uconn.edu/viewers/

The idea of 1st Americans is a BAD IDEA

I rant on YouTube:

The idea of 1st Americans is a BAD IDEA

Announcement from Mike Luoma

Mike Luoma shares his findings from the Spring at Indian Brook Reservoir Park, Essex, Vermont, including new stone rows, a Boulder Headed Serpent Effigy, and other artifacts, and invites you to engage with his work through his Facebook Group and YouTube Channel.

Note

Review the stonework features documented by Mike Luoma in the published video and consider contributing to his Ancient Stone Mysteries of New England Facebook Group or YouTube Channel. here

Mt Elam - more from reader James O.

Today I went out to Mt Elam, and though I was done in by the sea of mountain laurel (grade C according to your scale in “Shadow under the rock”) I did manage to find some interesting sites well away from the brook that you discuss.

Of greatest interest was a large pile with one obvious hollow and a second less defined depression. A beautiful diamond shaped quartz rock was along the rim of the main hollow. Next to this was a row of mostly buried rock stacks, each with one large flat rock atop a couple layers of smaller ones. I dug down to reveal the stack beneath, and I have included a diagram. 

Nearby were two other piles with hollows, each with a single quartz stone somewhere on top.

Here are the photos of the mound, hollow, quartz stone (loosely Manitou shaped) and one of the (slightly) excavated piles from the row. 

Swedes are excited to find one arrowhead

 Crystalline arrowhead among new discoveries at Hedkammen

This find would be a bad day in RI. Which highlights how there are so many more arrowheads in the US compared to Europe.

Hubbard Hill Structure and Turtle (Concord, MA)

[From reader James O:]

After walking along them for my whole life, I began studying rock walls in earnest a few years ago. ...

Today I decided to poke around Estabrook to prepare for a trip with some students (I teach at Concord-Carlisle) and thought I would take some time to look for rocks as well. I think I approached the topic with an appropriate skepticism, but after today my interest has been piqued. 

I walked up Hubbard's Hill and was immediately struck by the resemblance of this large rock to a snapping turtle head. To my amazement, the tip of the "nose" was pointed directly north. 

I later found the stone chamber. After noticing that the top of the hill seemed south-ish from the chamber, I took out my compass and walked as straight a line as I could due south. As it turned out, the turtle was pointing directly at the chamber. 

I didn't see any mention of this on the rockpiles blog, and was curious if you had ever noticed it and what your thoughts are. Any information you have on the chamber would also be greatly appreciated. I grew up in Harvard and once entered the chamber there when I was a kid. I'll have to revisit that site one of these days. 

I have also attached photos of a parent/chick barred owl from Hubbard Hill, and a fawn I found at the spring west of the Yellow Birch Swamp. 

How white guys reconstruct rock piles.

Around 1:58 in this video it shows a "burial mound" rock pile, that was excavated and then "reconstructed". 

Fort Ancient: A Glimpse of Ancient America

I never saw a rock pile built like that. Or, look at this one (from guideofgreece.com):

With some authority I claim Indians usually stacked stones on top of each other. In particular, you never see a paved dome. It reminds me of another (from M. Gage):

So, it seems likely this is the appearance of a fake rock pile.

Proud of my Desktop

That is "Soutrean" blades on the top row, as well as broken bi-points and a rounded base in the second row. All from the Las Vegas area. The material is Jasper, with Carnelian on the upper right. The bottom row includes the arrowhead I just found in southern MA, made from Argillite, and three Quartz blades from coastal RI. Black and white.

I am excited about finding one arrowhead

But unlike the Germans (of previous post) it is because I have not found one in a month. Here it is. After examination, I decided it is an asymmetric shouldered point. Kind of a "Merrimack". Or a "Narragansett" in my vocabulary. It is like the smaller quartz points and is broader and flatter. But I think it is still that kind of shape.

Video here:

Germans are excited by finding one arrowhead

I continue to be puzzled by the observation that Europe has almost no arrowheads. Here, a single one is considered an outstanding discovery:

Rare 4,500-year-old Stone Age artifact found in Germany | Miami Herald

 Looks like a face, looking out into the water. Seems kind of deliberate.

(Woods Hole, MA in the background).

The Fort Sage Drift Fence

A stone wall north of Reno Nevada, somehow is date-able as 3K years old. 

Question: What do they know out there that, somehow, eludes our New England "experts"?

Visit a 3,000 year old abandoned prehistoric structure that nobody talks about – near Reno, Nevada!

Answer: They find arrowheads along the wall.

Video here:

Arrowhead in a coastal potato field

Single shouldered ("small stemmed") Quartz Arrowhead

A couple of videos about it:

Raynham Arrowhead - a complete surprise

Small Stemmed Quartz - Not all the same

Day of Remembrance: Commemoration of the 349th anniversary of the Great Falls (Peskeompskut) Massacre on May 19, 1676

From the Nolumbeka Project

Ibises

 [Not rock pile related]

The Pine Hawk Discovery

Introduction to the Pine Hawk Discovery
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 7 pm
with Doug Halley at the Acton Memorial Library

Learn about Acton’s most significant archaeological discovery, the Pine Hawk site in South Acton. The site was inhabited by Native Americans for over several thousand years and yielded a treasure trove of artifacts.

Doug Halley was the Acton official most involved in the discovery of this site that unfolded over 20 years ago. He will describe that process of discovery, its significance, and how the project activated an increased interest in historical preservation, such as the Trail Through Time in North Acton. Doug also created an award-winning exhibit about Pine Hawk, which can be seen today on the ground floor of the Acton Memorial Library.

The Friends of Pine Hawk
Founded in 2002 after major discovery in Acton.
Sponsor of 140+ public events since then.
Helped pass Acton’s archaeological protection bylaw
at the 2022 Acton Town Meeting

Visit https://www.pinehawk.org/ to signup for our mailing list

Largest Stone Mound north of Mexico?

 Ohio ~ Locating The Largest Stone Pyramid/Mound North Of Mexico

How Greenwashing Attacks Indigenous People and Our Environment

MA Ethical Archaeology Society

ethicarch@pb05.wixemails.com

Click here:

How Greenwashing Attacks Indigenous People and Our Environment

Travois tracks dated to 22,000 years ago

 'A real chill': National park discovery rewrites human history

Three Squibnockets in one Day

 

Recent photos from Jim Wilson (PA)

  Mr. Jim Wilson writes (at a social media post):

    "8 of us rented an SUV last Friday for a road trip across Pike and Monroe counties to visit 7 constructed stone landscapes and get up close looks at the anomalous constructed stoneworks at each one. The majority of these features were cairns; some rather massive and flat topped and others smaller and conical, but all of them were carefully and beautifully built. And many of them were in wetlands. A linteled stone niche at one site and a low stone wall running for several hundred feet along the base of a bedrock outcrop were the other notable built stone features at some of these sites. The low constructed stone wall appears to accent the natural outcrop above it. Among we 8 travelers were Dr. Jannie Loubser, international archaeologist and rock art expert; and NEPA Archeology's own Danny Younger. A day of great conversations, info sharing and comraderie!"

There's Dr. Johnnie Rock Lobster and Norman Muller 

with some other guys...

The stones may have been chosen and then be stacked or laid to resemble scales around a rattlesnake eye:

And the image prompted this comment from an Ancient Origins editor: 

Another comment: