This Serpent Gateway, and this Uktena-like “Strong Looker” flat-topped triangular boulder in particular, has caught my eye every now and then over the years. Yesterday a little dusting of snow lingered on the stones, so I just had to turn around and look another time.
It's
a Rattlesnake head looking boulder placed on another boulder, much like this
excellent example of a “Serpent or Big Snake Gateway” about 5 miles away, also in
Bethlehem CT:
The other side of the “Gateway” or “Entrance” is less obvious and a little obscured by time and treefalls:
Looking Southeast
The row of
culturally stacked stones borders the west side of the road one the west side
of the floodplain, in use by Indigenous people living at the Nonnewaug Wigwams
when the first English speaking settler colonists moved into the area in 1673, perhaps up to about 1740.
A view from 1934 is
the earliest image I could find, showing far more intact stonework (and perhaps
chestnut rails on “stone walls”) than exists today (January 2025):
An older image of the Eastern border Stone Serpent:
I am always using this image of this Big Snake:
West
at top, LiDar and 2016 Google Earth image screenshot,
and the 1934 aerial photos
