Vermont’s Mysterious Stone Chambers New England is an old region. Paid little attention to by mainstream academia, these omnipresent structures appear to have been a part of the landscape for at … Most of the best-preserved chambers are driven into hillsides, though others are freestanding. Are the Stone Chambers really “root cellars” built by colonial farmers? America’s Stonehenge, Salem, New Hampshire by Alyson Horrocks, courtesy New England.com, America’s Stonehenge, Salem, New Hampshire, Great Wall of Sandwich, New Hampshire by Carol Highsmith. The stone chambers of New England like all the precolonial stonework are dry laid. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” they say, and rightfully so. In the meantime, the mystery remains and speculation continues regarding the mysterious stone structures. Some say the chamber is aligned to observe the setting solstice sun and stars of the Pleiades, as marked by large stone piles located on nearby Pratt Hill. (Photo courtesy of Bill Vieira.) His articles have appeared in print journals and web media around the globe; and he has delivered well-received lectures about his findings in the UK, Italy, Peru, Egypt, Spain, Mexico, Cyprus, and the U.S. Brasscheck TV. Interestingly, virtually no artifacts have been found inside the Upton Chamber. Three main theories exist regarding the origin and purpose of the chambers: These researchers have pointed out many interesting discrepancies. Cassaro has discussed his work on the History Channel, and in documentary films like Magical Egypt 2. Most believe that the structures were built by early colonists for use as root cellars, settlers’ quarters, smokehouses, shepherds’ shelters, animal pens, whiskey storage facilities, and hunting or trapping enclosures. 1. Others claim that the site was built by a Native American culture or is of pre-Columbian European origin. Many researchers now believe the Stone Chambers were built by the Native American Indians or perhaps their ancient ancestors who lived in New England before the arrival of the first Europeans. ... KEPRI believes that there is much more to the stone chambers than meets the eye, going farther back in history than the 1700's. Find an abandoned prison farm and a mysterious stone chamber in the New England woods. www.RichardCassaro.com. The chamber and the nearby stone cairns on Pratt Hill are both listed on the National Historic Register. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Scattered across four New England states are approximately 800 stone–built chambers, possibly of an ancient origin. The town of Upton is located about 12 miles southeast of Worcester. The chamber measures 10 feet wide by 20 feet long and the door aligns with the solstice sunrise. PREHISTORIC EUROPEAN TEMPLES www.RichardCassaro.com. It has long been known that old stone walls have been everywhere throughout the New England States. Characteristically, they are expertly constructed with fitted masonry stone and capped with megalithic slabs. Among multiple structural remains, of note is a stone chamber featuring an astronomical alignment during the equinoxes. There is approximately 800 stone–built chambers scattered across the New England States that are of a design and form that have been found nowhere else in North America. It was described by Dr. Edward J. Kealy, professor of the History at Holy Cross University as “potentially the most important stone complex in the Northern Hemisphere.” But Professor Curtis Runnels, Professor of Archaeology at Boston University, scoffs at the assertion that it is a monument built by settlers from Europe in pre-Columbian Bronze Age times, stating that “No Bronze Age artifacts have been found there.”. One example is a site called “Balanced Rock,” a giant boulder that rests on six conical rocks located on Route 116 in North Salem, weighing as much as 80 tons. Stonewall John was a talented mason who is said to have built the fort along with other Narragansett men loyal to Queen Quaiapen for defense purposes during King Phillip’s War. It is one of the largest and most precisely built beehive chambers in New England. Though the structures exhibit a number of common features, their construction details vary widely. Additionally, nowhere in America were Native Americans known to have constructed sweat lodges made of stone. If a set of chambers exists that is distinct from those built by the colonial farmers, then it has not made itself known. In fact, in the 1930s, someone estimated that New England had 250,000 miles of stone walls. Several archaeological digs have been done in the area and thousands of artifacts have been found, all of which were Native American or 18th and 19th century in origin, Featured on the History Channel and other television programs, America’s Stonehenge remains controversial. Who built them, and why? It is known that the Algonquian speaking tribes along with many other peoples throughout North America, viewed the universe as divided vertically into three major realms. www.RichardCassaro.com. It definitly showed you what to look for if you are interested in such things as: Stone Cairns, Chambers, etc. In 2011, the entrance to the chamber was restored by master stonemason David Stewart-Smith and … There, he found a tablet inside one of the chambers, which he said was carved with Ogam characters, a Celtic alphabetic system. The exterior is deceiving. On a hilltop in New Hampshire near the Massachusetts border is an archaeological site called America’s Stonehenge. Some are aligned along north-south and east-west axes. I visited and studied Balanced Rock in October 2015, a huge rock perched atop a ring of much smaller stones located in North Salem, NY. In 1956 the property was bought by Robert Stone, who renamed it “America’s Stonehenge”, turned it into a tourist attraction, and began charging admission to see the monoliths. Dotting western New England and eastern New York’s forests are thousands of enigmatic buildings referred to as the Stone Chambers. The chamber interior measures roughly 10 feet by 20 feet. Gungywamp Stone Circle by Randal J, courtesy Wikipedia. His published books Written in Stone (2011), The Missing Link (2016), and Mayan Masonry (2018) offer rare insights into ancient megaliths, spirituality, mythology, magic, symbolism, secret societies, comparative religion and occult archaeology. Further, he asserted that these structures, built along rivers in secluded valleys and on hilltops were erected by the priests (or Druids) for use as temples. The stones fit together precisely, with no mortar gluing them together, clearly indicating the incredibly high level of skill and craftsmanship of the chamber builders. These distinctive stone structures, also called huts, caves, beehives, dolmens, and root cellars, have long provoked questions about their age and cultural origins. www.RichardCassaro.com. The owner does not appreciate trespassers. The site is still in the Stone family today. The Secret Occult Meaning of the “Three Wise Monkeys” Hidden by the Elite, The Occult Secret of the “Skull & Cross Bones” Symbol, Exposing The “Secret Owl Society” Soaring Through History. Unless a bronze ax of demonstrable European origin is found in a sealed archaeological layer in or around any of the Stone Chambers, the mainstream view is that these amazing megalithic monuments are colonial root cellars and nothing more. The two photos above show how megalithic roof slabs of several tons each and fifteen feet long cover the Calendar II Stone Chamber in South Woodstock, Vermont. It was described as “one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England’s history.”. www.RichardCassaro.com. The largest underground chamber at Gungywamp is called the “calendar chamber” because it features an astronomical alignment. Connecticut has 62, New Hampshire has 51, Vermont has 41, Rhode Island has 12, and Maine has four. When you examine any of these chambers you will see that they were not easy to construct, their design is quite complex. The front part of the structure has been repaired by the owner but the interior is original. Amazingly, the chambers are all made of dry masonry stones, irregularly shaped. The only one of these structures that is open to the public is America’s Stonehenge. For answers, we first turn to an odd stone arrangement found in the hills of New England. Further, the beehive-shaped stone chambers look very much like ancient chambers built by monks in Ireland. Americas Stonehenge by Stan Shebs, courtesy Wikipedia. Recent addition -Wood entrance door … However, that number has since been doubled. And they’re all line up perfectly with … 2. The most elaborate structures, called “beehive” chambers were built in a conical shape and sometimes feature smoke holes for ventilation, as well as shelves and benches incorporated into the walls. Archaeoastronomy, the alignment of structures with the heavens, is usually associated with such ancient wonders as Machu Picchu in Peru or Newgrange … However, the years have taken their toll and it is little more than a round, rocky hillock. Front and back cover has light rubs and scratches from handling and storage and is discolored around the edges. These remarkable chambers, found nowhere else in North America, can be circular or rectangular in form, up to 30 feet in length but usually half that, occasionally 10 feet wide and up to 10 feet tall in the central chamber. www.RichardCassaro.com. To date, most archaeologists feel that the prehistoric European temple explanation for the Stone Chambers lacks archaeological context. Other researchers have presented the facts that the chambers were far too large for use for food storage and most colonists built root cellars underneath or near their homes instead of in the upland areas where most of them are found. The original sign at the site, erected by local historians, described it as a glacial erratic deposited in the Ice Age. Critics, however, counter Fell’s claims because no other evidence of European visitors has ever been found in the area. However, Fell, who utilized his tenure at Harvard to pursue his hobby of alternative history, is not well respected by archeologists, which immediately led to controversy. Bucolic landscapes and serene nature, right? This theory, already explained, suggests the colonial farmers who settled America in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries built the chambers to store and preserve their root crops during New England´s harsh winters. Search for the Mysterious Stone Builders of New England; Secrets of the Stones “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost; Photos of Stone Chambers in Vermont; Photos of Stone Chambers of Connecticut; Photos of Stone Chambers of Maine; Photos of Stone Chambers of Massachusetts; Photos of Stone Chambers of New York; Photos of Stone Chambers of New Jersey Especially ones like these? Further, why would practical-minded colonial farmers create such complex and well-crafted megalithic “root cellars” for simple use of their fruits and vegetables? In New England, we find about 800 ancient stone chambers of different and sizes and shapes. In his capacity as a field investigator, he hosts travel adventures to archaeological sites worldwide. But, they differ from other colonial structures including stone burial vaults, charcoal and lime kilns, potash burners, and iron furnaces. Others have been repeatedly vandalized, dismantled, destroyed, or abandoned. Richard Cassaro © Copyright, All Rights Reserved. Manitou Book by James Mavor and Byron Dix. The Calendar II chamber in South Woodstock is one of the biggest and best-known Stone Chambers in New England. Several chambers have large trees of significant size growing on top of them, demonstrating their structural sturdiness by their ability to withstand the outgrowth without collapsing: Several chambers have one or more trees of major size growing on them. For years these formations were assumed to be colonial root cellars, but in the late 1800s, a few archaeologists began speculating that the megalithic structures, similar to some types found in Europe, were the work of ancient European settlers. We use cookies. Also, no written records exist of the colonial farmers ever building even one of the Stone Chambers. (For more indepth information please see A Handbook to Stone Structures of Northeastern United States.) The fort was said to have included bastions of stone construction with a chamber in the middle. A natural spring runs under the chamber, which would make it a sacred or holy site in some cultures and religions. www.RichardCassaro.com. In 1977, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation studied the stone chambers and concluded that they did not serve as stone burial vaults, charcoal or lime kilns, potash burners or iron furnaces. This is also one of the few Stone Chambers to have what for lack of a better term can be called a “ventilation shaft” located on the very top of the chamber. According to this theory, ancient Celts, Druids, Phoenicians, Norsemen, Libyan sailors, Iberian adventurers, and Irish monks made their way to New England before Columbus—some say before Christ—and built the chambers. This sophisticated architectural design is used to support arches, parapets and floors. Believers in the ancient theory say that the chambers and rock formations were utilized collectively as some kind of religious ceremonial center as well as a celestial and astronomical observatory. aspects of the natural world that are sensed but not understood.” This description is consistent with the way the early inhabitants of this continent regarded their surroundings. This sits in his backyard. These strange beehive-shaped / igloo-shaped structures bear clear evidence of incredible planning, design, engineering, and craftsmanship. Similar stone structures of widely varying age and function have been documented from Britain, Scotland, France, northern Canada, and southeastern Italy. Exterior Ninham Mountain Stone Chamber. One belief is that they are Colonial root cellars used to store food. The complex is located high atop an imposing cliff, situated above a swamp feeding a stream that connects to the Thames River. This word likely is the source of the name Norumbega, which was used by the early European explorers and appeared on maps for the area of present-day New England from 1529 to the 1580s. And, why would these people have spent so much time and effort quarrying great amounts of stones and hauling them to these sites, when trees were abundant? This is on state land so free access. Think 'State Parks' and what comes to mind? A stone chamber is defined as a Native temple covered with a stone slab roof, in which the stones were quarried without the use of metal drills. The park is now open to the public. No artifacts have been found inside any of the Stone Chambers. Proponents of this theory point out similarities between the Stone Chambers, with their unmortared walls and celestial alignments, and many megalithic European sites like Knowth and Newgrange. It had a shape and designs on the handle that implicate the Druids. In recent years, the North Salem Historical Society changed the description of Balanced Rock to include the possibility that the rock may be a Celtic memorial. It is also known that there was a settlement by white farmers after 1780, and the site was also utilized from time to time by Native Americans. The Stone Chambers are now considered by many to be one of the great mysteries of North America. Unbeknownst to most Americans—and even to most New Englanders—a cluster of mysterious Stone Chambers lies scattered across a wide expanse of several New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut). Nashoba Brook Stone Chamber, Acton, Massachusetts by John Phelan, Wikipedia. To the north, chambers occur into central Vermont and New Hampshire. For example, colonial settlers described in their writings the existence of strange “Indian forts” in and around New England; these descriptions seem to match the Stone Chambers. The so-called “Calendar II” chamber, located in South Woodstock, Vermont, is aligned with the rising sun on the Winter Solstice: Left: Winter Solstice Sunrise alignment at the “Calendar II” Stone Chamber in Vermont. Stone Chambers is a specialist commercial set of barristers based in London. Dotting western New England and eastern New York’s forests are thousands of enigmatic buildings referred to as the Stone Chambers. Or could they be something much different, and perhaps far older? I will be returning to the Stone Chambers with further blog updates in the near future, and I am also currently working on a short film describing my experiences visiting and entering the chambers. Richard Cassaro is a Madrid-based author, lecturer, filmmaker, and tour guide from New York City. The word “Gungywamp” was originally thought to be an Indian word, but also translates in Gaelic meaning “Church of the People.”. I read the small pamphlet "A Guide To New England Stone Structures" By Mary and James Gage. By Mary Gage & James Gage . Fell stated that he had identified inscriptions in an early form of Ogam script dating from 1000 B.C. May say that these chambers are nothing more than colonial root cellars. Paid little attention to by mainstream academia, these omnipresent structures appear to have been a part of the landscape for at least as long as humans have lived in th… In August 2017, I traveled across several U.S. states to study these Stone Chambers and learn more about them. When the first English settlers came to New England they discovered numerous well-made stone cellars or chambers in Putnam and Dutchess counties. There are elaborately constructed stone structures throughout New England and the Northeast. From this shelf, a pipe–like hole called the “speaking tube” ascends to the surface. Mystery Hill, Salem, Massachusetts Historic Marker. The stone chamber in Belmont, Maine, aligns so the summer solstice illuminates its interior. These remarkable chambers, found nowhere else in North America, can be circular or rectangular in form, up to 30 feet in length but usually half that, occasionally 10 feet wide and up to 10 feet tall in the central chamber. These two sites are 14 miles apart but exist on a perfect north/south alignment accurate to within 200 feet. New England Stone Chamber – Many Questions Exterior of Chamber (Entrance area rebuilt by owner.) Members of chambers provide advocacy, advisory and arbitral services of the highest quality in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious international and domestic work. But we don't have two duplicate sets of stone chambers in New England. Indeed, upon close inspection, the style and structure of many of the stone chambers closely matched the masonry in the remains of nearby farmsteads. However, this does not explain that early records of New England colonists make mention of stone chambers preexisting before they settled the land and also described in their writings, the existence of strange “Indian forts.” Nor does it explain that sometimes the age of the chamber could be authenticated by trees that predated settlement, that passageways were often too low and narrow to wheel a cart into, and the chambers’ having soil floors that would rot vegetables. Though neither author was a trained archaeologist, they showed that the Indians had more astronomical knowledge than had previously been acknowledged and that there is a wealth of archaeological remains in New England that had been ignored by archaeologists. Hidden across the rocky highlands of America´s quaint New England landscape are hundreds of mysterious “megalithic” Stone Chambers, possibly of ancient origin. Some accounts say that Quaiapen and Stonewall John were lovers. It is open to the public daily for a fee as part of a recreational area which includes snowshoe trails and an alpaca farm. Unfortunately, many of the chambers have been torn down or quarried for their stone. The site’s chambers are beehive in shape, includes a petroglyph image of a bird with outstretched wings, a double circle of stones, just north of two underground chambers, a number of megaliths, and cairns. For 15 years they worked together researching and interpreting New England’s stone structures before publishing their findings in the book Manitou in 1889. Dr. Fell concluded that the carvings were made by Celts from the Iberian Peninsula who carved them around 1000 BC. The corbeling technique is used to support arches, parapets and floors, and it is one of the reasons why the Stone Chambers have survived this long—far outlasting the actual farmhouses of the colonial settlers who are credited with having constructed them. His first book, Written in Stone, is a wide-ranging exploration of hitherto-unknown connections among Freemasons, medieval cathedral builders and the creators of important ancient monuments, in support of his theory that a spiritually advanced mother culture, lost to history, is behind many of the world’s architectural and artistic traditions. Exterior Ninham Mountain Stone Chamber . Surrounding these chambers are often found cairns, standing stones, enclosures, ceremonial walls, pedestal boulders, and balanced rocks. Your email address will not be published. Intense public interest began after Professor Barry Fell, a retired marine biologist from Harvard University, undertook an examination of several areas in Vermont in the 1970s. The others are situated on private land and permission is needed to access them. Maine has the fewest stone structures of any of the New England states, but it does have some: cairns in Bingham along the Kennebec River and in Whitefield, a stone tunnel in Northport. A short time later on December 19, 1675, what is known as the Great Swamp Massacre occurred at the Narragansett village when it was attacked by colonial militiamen from Plymouth Colony, Connecticut Colony, and Massachusetts Bay Colony. Some researchers have dubbed them “beehive” chambers because of the often “conical” shape of their central rooms. This position does not make sense when all the evidence is examined. Fell and others who support the idea of the ancient European settlement, also cite further evidence such as the use of stone circles, carved deities and animal figures, symbolic markings, Celtic place names, cairns, and chamber features that align with the sunset and sunrise during solar solstices and equinoxes. The first place to start is to state what they are not. As an explainative book it is the perfect little carry along for knowing what it is you are seeing. Strange stone tunnels and chambers, perhaps pre-historic, have been found in Leyden, Wendell, Pelham, Montague, New Salem, Whitingham, VT and throughout New … As our name suggests, we are of the opinion that the ancient Celts built them, due to much research and exploration. These included the Upperworld which consisted of the sky, the earth itself called the Middleworld, and everything below ground was called the Underworld. Many are situated near a natural waterway. Modern archaeologists claim that they are colonial root cellars. Afterward, the fort was said to have been utilized by bandits and hermits. Though many historians and archeologists believe these structures were built by early colonists as root cellars, or perhaps by Native Americans before them, others believe that some of these chambers are ancient, built by European travelers during the Bronze Age. Comment: Paper back book, Vermont's Stone Chambers: An inquiry into their past, Same as our picture shown here, Aged Tan 102 pages unmarked. The two told the story of the discovery and exploration of these many stone structures and standing stones, whose placement in the surrounding landscape suggests that they played an important role in celestial observation and shamanic ritual. The landscape of nineteenth century New England was one where the stone chambers would seem quite at home. The Stone Chambers are mostly spread across New England: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut. For me, the megalithic size of the roof slabs coupled with the incredibly advanced craftsmanship of the stones is extraordinary evidence enough. The Mystery Hill complex, the largest and most sophisticated of its kind in North America, covers over 30 acres and is composed of monolithic standing stones, stone walls and underground chambers, most of which are aligned to obvious astronomical points. Located near the mouth of the Thames River outside of Groton, Connecticut, this archaeological site consists of a wide assortment of stone chambers, a stone circle, and artifacts that have been found that date from 2000-770 B.C. The priest instructed the man to stay away from the chamber because it was the work of the devil and was a place where the devil enters this world. Today the site is owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The chambers exhibit common features, although construction details of individual chambers differ. A letter dated November 30, 1654, by John Pynchon, who founded Springfield, Massachusetts, lends strong support to the idea that many stone structures existed here before the colonists arrived. The walls are built using a technique called corbelling. Right: Interior of Stone Chamber on Route 6 in New York State. All the chambers employ megalithic masonry in the form of several ton roof slabs that lock together without mortar and with incredible precision. Upton Chamber, Massachusetts by Malcolm Pearson, 1944. Other archaeologists assert that because the area was altered so much by previous owner William Goodwin, who quarried and excavated the area and moved stones and structures around, that the site has been so compromised, that current archeologists can’t take it seriously. Me investigating the Stone Chamber on the old Mead Farm in Kent, NY. In fact, for several decades researchers have been asking a variety of questions challenging the mainstream interpretation. The two also concluded that many of these sites were at least several thousand years old. In the end, the settlement was burned, its inhabitants, including women and children, were killed or evicted, and most of the tribe’s winter stores were destroyed. Scattered throughout New England stand enigmatic stone chambers that defy conventional explanation. A Guide to New England Stone Structures is a basic introductory field guide to identifying the many different types of stone structures found while hiking through the forest and conservation lands in New England. While their homes and other buildings have long since vanished, these stone chambers still exist. Manitou is the Algonquin word for God and is “the spiritual quality possessed by every part or aspect of nature, animate or inanimate…………. The Calendar II chamber in South Woodstock is one of the biggest and best-known Stone Chambers in New England. Stone chamber on Rattlesnake Gutter Road, Levett, Massachusetts, courtesy Wikipedia. What are they, who built them and why the enormous skill, precision and effort to create them? On this hill, several cairns are located near the summit. The idea that colonial farmers created such complex and well-crafted megalithic “root cellars” for their fruits and vegetables—which to this day are still perfectly intact, even though their farmhouses have long since vanished—is a bit strange. Dimensions of the chambers vary, with some chambers measuring up to 40 feet in length and 10 feet in height. in Putnam County, New York (southern part close to Connecticut.) The cave is topped with several large oval stones believed to weigh over ten thousand tons each. Some believe that the stonework actually predated Queen Quaiapen. Birmingham based multi-disciplinary outfit St Philips and shipping specialists Stone Chambers will from 1 August be known collectively as St Philips Stone Chambers. The book’s general conclusion is that shamanism, vision-seeking, and careful solar and stellar observations were among the central motifs in the cultural beliefs of the natives who built them. The builders of these chambers are unknown, although some archaeologists suspect the Druids.

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