Enclosure Feature?

The photo suggests a possible feature (marked in blue). This may be an enclosure, sometimes referred to as a prayer seat. The use of small one or two person enclosures by Native Americans has been documented. They were used by shamans for various rituals and by people on visions quest. We suspected there were other uses as well.

James Gage http://www.stonestructures.org/

Feature Marked in blue is what appears to a segment of stone wall. This feature passes through a fissure or split in a boulder or exposed bedrock. Split boulders and fissure in bedrock were utilized, linked to, or otherwise factored into a number of Native American stonework sites in New England. There is a growing consensus that these splits or fissures were considered “spirit portals” to the Underworld.

James Gage http://www.stonestructures.org/

Stone Wall This photo shows a non-linear stone wall. The line of the wall is indicated in blue. The red circle indicates a large in ground boulder incorporated into the wall construction. The width of wall varies from single stone wide construction to a wider more mound shape construction (or deterioration). Land division between family members and property line disputes sometimes resulted remarkable erratic boundary walls. Evidence for such erratic boundaries can be found in property deeds and maps. Native American ritual stone walls used to define sacred space, provided features for spirits to travel along, link different components of the natural landscape together, or accentuate landscape features also tend to create unusual stone walls. This wall’s course was intentional laid out to include the large boulder. This linking characteristic is typical of Native American stone walls.

James Gage http://www.stonestructures.org/

James Gage http://www.stonestructures.org/

James Gage http://www.stonestructures.org/