Straits Senior Site (Watertown CT again)

Lidar images of Indigenous Rows of Stone

      In places disturbed, all of the images above that are most often interpreted as stone walls are more likely the remnants of an Indigenous Ceremonial Stone Landscape. Unmaintained for hundreds of years, tumbled down in spots and heaped with refuse in places, these rows of stones, Qusukqaniyutôk in the Nipmuc language, Pumiyotkansh in Mohegan, these enclosures functioned as fuel breaks for selective burning at the edge of a bit of wetland where smaller stones are placed on boulders, perhaps “Honoring Stones” or Wâunonaqussukquanash.

(Paired Black and White Stones) 

     Rather than being the “tossed stones” of field clearing, stacked in a random manner, some of the purposeful stacking of the stones may recall to the careful observer that there is Native American Iconography intended to be seen in these enclosures. These rows of stones are spiritual stones as well, Great Serpents that are protective spirits against Thunder Beings who caused wild fires with the bolts of lightning that came from their eyes. The sound of thunder that follows lightning flashes was said to be the angry voice of the Great Serpent, the sound of trickling water the Being’s contented “purring.”

Following the path from the parking lot north, noting the Serpent Stacking:

      

To build a stone wall in the shape of a Great Serpent imparts the power of the Great Serpent to that stone wall. This is true of a simple low wall as well as the taller walls that may have been added to over time, each new course also a serpent, other Icons also present, sometimes purposeful multiple images that appear in changing light and weather conditions...

(Snake, Human or Spirit, and Turtle eyes added to photo:) 

Turtle...

But also a Great Serpent (imaginary horns added):

The white quartz Turtle head also is the Ulun'suti, comparable to the jewel in the head of the Tsalagi or Cherokee Spirit Being known as the Uktena, a Horned Serpent...

More white quartz: 

 (The Indigenous Language names come from various places; language restoration projects, archaeological journals and on-line sources such as http://oso-ah.org/custom.html etc.)

Qusukqaniyutôk ~ ‘stone row, enclosure’ Harris and Robinson, 2015:140, ‘fence that crosses back’ viz. qussuk, ‘stone,’ Nipmuc or quski, quskaca, ‘returning, crosses over,’ qaqi, ‘runs,’ pumiyotôk, ‘fence, wall,’ Mohegan, Mohegan Nation 2004:145, 95, 129) wall (outdoor), fence, NI – pumiyotôk plural pumiyotôkansh

    Wawanaquassik honoring stone place 

              also: wâunona-qussuk and plural wâunonaqussukquanash honoring stones.

Seniors and Stones (Watertown CT)

 “…I’d say that while many stone features have been destroyed, there are still thousands left. They are hiding in our back yards, in our state forests, along our waterways — everywhere in plain sight."

Lisa McLoughlin

    Sometimes, I find, some stone features do actually show up pretty good on some of these LiDar images I tickle up. I could never get a good image of the unrecognized Ceremonial Stone Landscape features up in my old childhood neighborhood, all these trees blocking the view: 

     Accessing the Lidar images at https://cteco.uconn.edu/viewer/index.html?viewer=advanced, some of the old rows of stones stand out enough for me to match up photos of features that I am sure have probably been designated and identified as “abandoned” stone walls composed of stones removed from post-colonial agricultural fields:

I can flip north for south and stick in some labels:

     

I'd have to go back and field check the exact location of this one in the distance, to the south and east of that row of stones, before the backyards begin, probably just into a protected wetland area where many more boulders are resting places for other certain stones all along the edge of this riparian zone:

An interesting boulder and stones, 

a Serpent-like streak of white quartz above a another face-like inclusion of quartz...

For more see: 

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2017/04/sort-of-circular-and-boulder-i-missed.html

A few other posts about the same place:

http://rockpiles.blogspot.com/2017/03/behind-grocery-store-watertown-ct.html

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2017/03/theres-manitou-in-every-stone.html

    I just found out that the “Magnolia Development Company, LLC, wants to build a 35,500-square-foot, three-story assisted living facility on (these) 10 undeveloped acres between 639 and 669 Straits Turnpike, located behind Labonne’s Market and Hylie Products. The development would have between 76 and 90 apartments. Stop & Shop currently owns the parcel...”

https://www.primepublishers.com/towntimesnews/news/top_stories/zoning-commission-to-consider-assisted-living-facility/article_02bee8b2-11b7-11e8-92b9-f3a1f2860787.html

    I doubt very much if a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer has been contacted to comment about the developement - and take it for granted that the "stone walls" and "field clearing piles" aren't considered to be of any great importance...

My best guess is that this is a Light colored (Quartzite?) Boulder

with a stone Moose Head Effigy on it,

perhaps a place to burn tobacco before a hunt...

Quote from Lisa McLoughlin taken from Link to the article on No Fracked Gas in Mass.

    Protective Strategies for Ceremonial Stone Structures:

http://rockpiles.blogspot.com/2017/03/protective-strategies-for-ceremonial.html

More LiDar Dabbling

Where the Serpent stretches along the edge of the wetland doesn’t show so well in the Lidar:

Up above you can only see some of the more massive row of stones

Where you can sometimes hear trickling water, the Great Serpent contentedly “purring.”

Up above that the Mound Swamp:

Below: possible serpent head boulder,

as suggested by Norman Muller in 19981 visit.

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2006/10/mound-swamp-part-one.html

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2006/10/in-mound-swamp.html

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2016/12/uktena-at-bald.html

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2016/12/mound-swamp-digital-10-2006.html

Turtle Stones (CT)

Tûnuppusuonk káhtôquwuk / Tûnuppusuonk Qussukquanash ~ Turtle Stones

More: Turtles