Split Boulder W/ Wedge, Cairns, & A Possible Native Well- Holliston Site Pt. 2

Split Boulder W/ Wedge, Cairns, & A Possible Native Well- Holliston Site Pt. 2

I tried to balance showing off the bigger features and the smaller features of this site between the first part of the post and this one, although the Dolmen structure may be the most stunning feature of the site- but to put this site in more context the other stone features should be looked at as well.  This whole site is very well obscured by new growth pine trees and brush growing up.  This site is about half-way between the Miller Hill Site in Holliston and the North Mill St. site in Hopkinton, MA.

First is a larger feature, a Split Boulder with a Wedge Insert:

Nearby, a smaller split boulder w/ wedge insert:

Smaller rock at the foot of larger, cone-shaped rock:

Rock on the left, rock on the right:

Below is View A of the Well.  This is my first time coming across what is probably a Native Well.  I have seen wells in the woods before but they were always of colonial or later origin.  Below, I will copy and paste a description of the stone feature of Native Wells that can be found in the Northeast from the website NativeStones.com . The description is as follows;

"Native wells serve as entrances into Mother Earth.  Found frequently in southern New England, they are closely related to the sipapus associated with Anasazi and Puebloan kivas.  While the sipapus of the Southwest are built into the floor of the kivas (which are analogous to the chambers and foundations of the Northeast), the Northeastern wells almost always are located external to the chamber or foundation.  Normally within 100 feet of the chamber/foundation, the well is generally on either a cardinal or solstice alignment from the chamber entrance or the nearest corner of the foundation.  Sometimes multiple wells are found, generally two. Mystery Hill in New Hampshire, for example, possess two wells in the southern part of the complex. Horizontal shafts have been noted which begin around 10 feet below the surface.  Northeastern wells can be 25 or more feet deep, and are almost always circular, around 2.5 feet in diameter." (source, NativeStones.com)

Also from NativeStones.com are some accounts of Native Wells from Connecticut:

John W. Barber, Connecticut Historical Collections 1838 (p.78):

"At Bissell's ferry [in East Windsor], near the mouth of the Scantic river, is a well which is supposed to have been made before any English settlements were attempted in Connecticut. The lower part of the well is walled by stones hewn in a circular manner, and the manner in which they are laid together is believed to be entirely different from that in which any Englishman would lay them - there remains no traditions respecting the time, or the persons by whom this well was constructed."

F. M. Caulkins, History of New London, 1860; p. 69n:

"If conjecture be allowed, we should fix the site [of Rev. Blinman's house on Meeting House Hill on the north side of Granite St.] on the slope of the hill upon the northwest side, nearly opposite Richard Post's lot, where is yet remaining an ancient well on the street side." (source, NativeStones.com)

As we can see this Well from the Holliston site fits the description of a Native Well in being about 2.5 ft in diameter, and is within a site that is clearly associated with other StoneWorks of Native origin.  It doesn't quite look like a watering hole that a later farmer would have made for his animals, nor is this site a good location for grazing livestock, it is too much partially wetland.  In staying true to the description, it is located outside of that Dolmen Structure from last post, (pt 1) and some of the nearby rocks on the ground are in fact probably the remains of foundation stones of structures.

View A of the Well: 

View B of the Well:

Some more cairns nearby, obscured by pine brush:

Another feeling of an enclosure around this boulder:

More Cairns:

The nearby brook:

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this site, which is a Quarry Boulder and a wonderfully worked out bird stone idol made from the same material as the Quarry Boulder (a rock used for resource, showing signs of being used/chinked out chunks.)