Hopkinton State Park (MA.) Pt. 7 The "Sun-dial"
This site features a stone marker. The boulder has been split with a gap between the rocks. One end is worked out into a triangular tip, the other end flat with stone placement markers. I do believe that this functioned as a calander marker, or as a sun-dial, when the light aligned with this stone at certain times of the year, probably casting a shadow as well. I did notice that the afternoon summer solstice sun was directly over-head, and that this cairn marker is located on a flat plain that would be perfect for observing solar alignments through-out the year.
This cairn isn't too far away from a trail, leading away from the State Park. The fact that this marker has been left alone is amazing- it is probably very old. When compared to other world history one can say "this was probably here before the time of Julius Caesar, or Columbus" etc., just to put some of these sites in context.
The "sun-dial" view A:
B:
C:
A second "sun dial" also from Hopkinton State Park which I featured I think in Part 5:
I have also noticed these markers at other sites, with at least a couple examples to be found in older posts in this blog. This concludes this series on Hopkinton State Park, although they own a lot of land I have yet to explore in other areas. Stay tuned for Summer Solstice viewing sites as well as more stone-works and new insights by the Echo Lake area.
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