Gungywamp (CT.) Pt 1- Propped Boulders & Ledge Features

Gungywamp (CT.) Pt 1- Propped Boulders & Ledge Features

On top of a ledge, an arrangement of propped boulders-

Stone platform at the foot of a propped boulder-

Stone wall running around the ledge-

The stone wall continues towards these 2 propped boulders-

More propped boulders on the ledge (with stone wall running between) lining up in a row-

More stone wall in the ledge-

Propped boulder overlook A-

B-

Large stone slab/ altar ("table dolmen") propped up on a ledge-

Propped boulder over-hang A-

B-

C-

Stone wall running into a ledge, view A-

B- (looks like an old habitation spot)-

Small rock shelter-

A very powerful looking boulder outcrop over-hang.  These boulders were possibly placed-

Native profile face stone worked out on a ledge. (see my recent post from Sherborn MA. for a similar profile face over-looking a ledge)-

Worked-out platform on the ledge next to the profile stone-

Stay tuned for Gungywamp Pt 2.

Stone Mound (s) Along the Sudbury River- Hopkinton/ Ashland MA.

Stone Mound (s) Along the Sudbury River- Hopkinton/ Ashland MA.

I covered this site on this blog before.  But I never presented a view like this.  Stone Mound A on top of a hill over-looking the Sudbury River.  A good pic from early spring before the leaves bloom obscuring the view-

This mound has a lot of nice spiraling features/ holllow depressions & "compartments" but since I already featured it I am just showing it off in terms of how it caps the hill. 

Sherborn Sites Pt 8- More Stone Wall Features

Sherborn Sites Pt 8- More Stone Wall Features

A triangular stone propped up and placed on a stone wall running through ledges.  I have seen similar triangular-shaped stones in walls before, some have been featured in this blog before.  These triangular stones seem to function as a focal point-

Archaic-looking stone wall running up a steep ledge, land that was never used for colonial or later agriculture or farming (although there were colonial estates nearby but in such cases these stone walls were already on the land, probably for thousands of years.)-

A nice curve in this wall as it descends down a slope- 

Boulder in the wall (stones running into, or from, the boulder)-

This wraps up my series of Sherborn, MA. sites for now although I will post more Sherborn sites in the future.  Stay tuned for my up-coming series of posts on Gungywamp in Groton, CT.  Also stay tuned for some more "major" sites coverage including some of South-East New England's premier Propped Boulder arrangements/ megaliths in Lynn and Manchester MA. 

Sherborn Sites Pt 7- Stone Mounds/ Cairns

Sherborn Sites Pt 7- Stone Mounds/ Cairns

A larger stone mound.  Note the shape of the stone mound.  View A-

View B.  Note the hollow depression in the middle (a good indication that this is Native in origin and not the result of later field clearing) -

C-

Smaller, low to the ground cairns-

Elongated-

Another elongated pile/ row-

Sherborn MA. Sites Pt 6- Propped Boulder Sites

Sherborn MA. Sites Pt 6- Propped Boulder Sites

Site 1 of this post.  The profile of a great chief (sachem) or maybe a deity, from great antiquity, propped up on a ledge over-looking a valley-

A-

B-

C- below is this placed boulder, which is a worked-out platform that a single person can stand upon which is behind the profile boulder.  One can imagine a person of great renown addressing a crowd below, or perhaps just over-looking the country-side.  From below a gathering of people (perhaps returning to a village site after a seasonal excursion?) would not only see the person on the ledge but the profile rock as well.  In this way the speaker (or person) on the ledge had the "authority" (blessing) to speak/ perform ceremony at this site (an ancestral "thing", a place of transmission, for instance, how many "old world" people all over the world will say "I speak for such and such as my father and his father did before me..." well, this is the indigenous roots of such a thought process that is embedded in the human psyche- so yeah, this is much more than just a rock we are looking at here, and it should be noted this goes back to a time when everything was done in a sacred manner.  Just some thoughts on this one)-

D-

Site 2- a semi-ring of propped boulders on a high ledge-

This boulder is split with stone fill, propped on the edge of the ledge.  Looks like a turtle's or bird's beak coming out of the ground-

Another propped boulder, the profile of a deity (note the mouth, nose, etc.)-

Another sem-ring of propped boulders at this site-

Site 3 of this post.  Bird/ turtle prop-

On the high point of the knoll.  Propped boulder with a strong orientation-

Site 4-

Site 5 of this post.  A boulder that perhaps had a spiral foot-path leading up to it.  The boulder seems worked-out so one could easily walk on top of the boulder, again, in a spiral formation- 

B- the other side of the boulder reveals that offering stones were laid down around it-

Site 6- a shell-like boulder that has been propped up-

Sherborn MA Sites Pt 5- Ledges, Stone Wall Features, Ledge Cairns

Sherborn MA Sites Pt 5- Ledges, Stone Wall Features, Ledge Cairns

Nice view by the ledges of the sun-set in Sherborn MA.-

Partial U-shape enclosure in stone wall with view of the sun-set view A-

B-

Stone wall running along a ledge.  Note the dip in the stone-work as the ledge rises-

Nice pattern in this stone wall section-

Small niche spot-

Again the nice pattern in the stone wall-

Ledge Cairn 1, View A (+ more sunset)-

Ledge Cairn 1, View B -

Ledge Cairn 1 view C-

Ledge Cairn 2- nice panaramic view- 

Same stone wall but a different section, or "arm" of it running along a ledge by the street-

A knocked over Standing Stone that was poking out of a pile of rocks by the edge of a modern path-way into someone's sideyard, right next to the street in roughly the same area as the last pic-