Special Cairn Field & StoneWorks Pt 2- Cairn W/ Bird Effigy Marker, the WatchMan, Solar Alignment

Special Cairn Field & StoneWorks Pt 2- Cairn W/ Bird Effigy Marker, the WatchMan, Solar Alignment

Like I explained in the first post this site is on family property and I spent alot of careful and diligent time clearing around the cairns, which included clearing the woods in general to open it up from overgrowth of saplings, trees and thornes.  I also cleared away leaf litter and some of the top soil around the stones that had built up over time.

This particular cairn is very noteworthy.  First, it has a stone marker in the shape (at least from one angle) of a bird effigy, aka statue.  When I first un-earthed this feature the marker slid off the cairn because all the soil that had built up over the centuries had tilted the marker out of place.  I was actually despaired about this at first.  With a little time and observational skills I identified the original position of the marker stone, having remembered where it slid from, and noticing a semi-circular ring of stones that the base of the marker stone fit into perfectly like a glove, or like a plug goes into a socket, but of course the marker stone stands erect.  State archaeologist and anthropologist Curt Hoffman, upon seeing this feature told me to be on the look-out for a solar alignment regarding this feature, which I have noted as we shall see later in the post.

Other notable features about this cairn is the effigy of a stone man, or rather the head and torso of a stone man, watching the sky.  The features of this cairn may be a sort of stone heiroglyphic language indicating that this spot is good for solar observation.  It would be nice to know more about the story of the stone man- is it simply a marker conveying a message or is it the actual likeness of an Algonquian Powwow (meaning a medicine person/ "priest").  There is also a special blue stone incorporated into the cairn and a smaller standing stone at the base.   

Here are the pics.

The stone marker is on the top, the blue stone is to the left:

A good pic of the stone marker and the stone man (on the bottom- head and torso).  A:

B:

Close-up of the stone man, who is looking up at the heavens:

Close-up of the stone marker from this angle.  Note how it is fitted into the stone ring:

Pic of some of the stones placed on this cairn.  Note the different colored stones, etc;

On the bottom left is a smaller standing stone at the base of the cairn, propped up by two other smaller stones at the base:

From this angle (this is the other side of the cairn which is more bare) the stone marker looks like a bird statue which is looking west towards the setting sun.  One possible theory is that this cairn might have to do with Native agricultural practises and observances.  In Narragansett legend the bird, the Crow brings the people the first seed of corn coming from the south-west.  Here I provide an excerpt from PBS' "Circle of Stories": [ It is believed that Crow brought corn from the Southwest, and told the people to mix it with beans, creating succotash, a Narragansett staple. Traditionally, women have a strong place in society, owning the developed land and dwellings, and often becoming “sachems” (hereditary leaders) and warriors. Women always walked behind the men, not in subordination, but to tell them where to go.]  Could this bird effigy represent the crow and agricultural observances? (which in turn would relate to the seasons, the constellations in the night sky, etc):

Close-up of the bird effigy and the semi-circle stone ring the base of the marker fits into:

Okay.  Now here we have the setting sun during the time of the summer solstice solar event.  Note how the bird effigy is oriented towards the setting sun, thus receiving it's ray of light:

Back to the other side of the cairn to view the cairn and the solar event.  The sun has radiated the stone.  It is blessed:

More from this site to come..