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<< Text Pages >> Nipsachuk - Cairn in United States in New England

Submitted by aluta on Wednesday, 23 July 2008  Page Views: 17167

Site WatchSite Name: Nipsachuk Alternative Name: North Smithfield Cairn Field
Country: United States
NOTE: This site is 15.446 km away from the location you searched for.

Region: New England Type: Cairn
Nearest Town: Providence  Nearest Village: North Smithfield
Latitude: 41.966670N  Longitude: 71.55W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
2

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Cairn Cemetery in Providence County, Rhode Island. At least 100 rock piles within an area of 230 acres. The cairns are approximately 3 feet high and 4 feet wide. Argument exists over the origin of this stone mound cairn field. The Wampanoag Nation's Seaconke Indian tribe claims it is a burial ground, with cairns marking both burial sites and memorials. Some authorities differ in their assessments, believing it to be the remains of field clearing in colonial America.

The Narragansett Improvement Co. plan for a housing project on the site have prompted conflicting archaeological surveys to determine the origin of the structures. The development is currently denied by the town planning commission, but the town continues to seek to have the area declared a historic site to block future development efforts. The location given is for the town of Smithfield. The actual site is on private land.

Note: Archaeologists for hire may be providing conflicting analysis, but developer's findings remain under wraps. See latest comment.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 17.6km SSE 158° Ochee Spring Quarry Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 23.4km ENE 67° Foxborough Perched Boulder (2)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 23.5km ENE 67° Foxborough Perched Boulder (6)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 23.7km ENE 67° Foxborough Perched Boulder (3)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 23.8km ENE 67° Foxborough Standing Stone (3)* Marker Stone
 23.8km ENE 66° Foxborough Cairn* Cairn
 23.8km ENE 67° Foxborough Prayer Seat (10)* Cairn
 23.8km ENE 66° Foxborough Perched Boulder (5)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 23.8km ENE 67° Foxborough Perched Boulder (4)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 23.9km ENE 67° Foxborough Prayer Seat (5)* Cairn
 23.9km ENE 66° Foxborough Standing Stone (5)* Marker Stone
 23.9km ENE 67° Foxborough Stone Ring* Ring Cairn
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 24.0km ENE 66° Foxborough Standing Stone (2)* Marker Stone
 24.0km ENE 67° Foxborough Prayer Seat (7)* Cairn
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 24.1km ENE 67° Foxborough Standing Stone (4)* Marker Stone
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 24.1km ENE 66° Foxborough Stone Row (1)* Stone Row / Alignment
 24.1km ENE 66° Foxborough Stone Row (2)* Stone Row / Alignment
 24.2km ENE 67° Foxborough Prayer Seat (6)* Cairn
 24.3km ENE 65° Foxborough Perched Boulder (1)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 24.4km ENE 65° Foxborough Prayer Seat (4)* Cairn
 24.4km ENE 65° Foxborough Prayer Seat (11)* Cairn
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"Nipsachuk" | Login/Create an Account | 14 News and Comments
  
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Re: Tribe, Developer, Battle over Rhode Island Rock Piles by Condros on Thursday, 31 July 2008
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Isn't it amazing that this developer refuses to listen that this site he claims was caused by colonial farmers clearing their fields ?, when no evidence of agricultural plowing ever took place. I can just see a bunch of colonials first taking the time to clear an area that they wanted to plow, than never doing it- That alone would be enough for any common sense local government to declare the area free from a developer, until a full archaeological investigation could take place.
And as been noted in these postings, the remains of a young girl have been found in the area. so how much more evidence does the officials need to declare the site as "off limits" to developing ????
[ Reply to This ]

Tribe, Developer, Battle over Rhode Island Rock Piles by bat400 on Wednesday, 23 July 2008
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The legal disputes over the Nisachuk Rock Piles continues. Originally submitted by coldrum.

As a boy, John Brown remembers traveling with his family to the wooded hills in northwest Rhode Island where his fellow Narragansett Indians gathered near stone piles they believe were left by ancient ancestors. That belief is now at the center of a struggle between the rural town of North Smithfield and a developer who wants to build a 122-lot subdivision on the land.

The town suspects the piles are burial mounds, and has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to declare the land a historic burial ground. But the developer contends the piles were left behind by farmers or loggers, and has been pushing since 2001 to build.

Little is known for certain about the hundreds of rock mounds near Nipsachuck Hill and swamp. The piles of granite, slate and quartz rocks on hilly, forested land there are generally two feet or taller. Similar mounds have been found along the Appalachian Mountains and into eastern Canada. The land was a crossroads for several historic American Indian tribes in southern New England, including the Nipmuc, Narragansett and Wampanoag. Two battles were fought there during the 17th century King Philip's War, a bloody conflict between New England's colonists and the Wampanoag tribe and its allies.

Nineteenth century maps show that American Indian families continued to live and farm in the Nipsachuck area, said Donald Gagnon, chairman of the North Smithfield Conservation Commission.

Brown, the historic preservation officer for the Narragansett tribe, said the stone mounds appear to be man-made and probably mark a burial or ceremonial ground common to several tribes. Narragansett Indians continued to gather there for sunrise ceremonies and other commemorations into the 1960s or 1970s, when conflicts with property owners halted the meetings, he said.

"We would meet there and discuss that it was a meeting place of our ancestors, and that we come at this time to give acknowledgment of those people that have passed," Brown said.

The housing development, proposed by the Narragansett Improvement Co. and two other firms, was first rejected in 2001 by town authorities because the subdivision would have leveled the hilly landscape, among other reasons. (Narragansett Improvement is not related to the Narragansett Indian Tribe.) The developers filed a second proposal in 2005 but, after a lawsuit, it was rejected by the town in April.

Michael Kelly, an attorney for the developers, would not comment in detail about the dispute, but says the town's most recent lawsuit is a ploy to block the development.

Town officials say they just want to enforce building laws and protect burial plots. Under state law, local governments must establish a 25-foot perimeter around historic cemeteries or even suspected burial sites. If enough burial sites are identified, it could make parts of the development site off-limits for building.

In addition to the stone mounds, old property deeds refer to family cemeteries within the proposed development, Gagnon said.

Kelly's clients paid a private archaeologist nine years ago to excavate several areas on the property. Kelly would not say what was found, but he said the archaeologist determined the area was not a burial ground.

But last year, the town hired Meli, who owns an archaeological consulting firm in North Kingstown, to conduct several walking surveys of Nipsachuck Hill and swamp. He found multiple artifacts that he believes show the site was in use by humans before the first Europeans arrived.

He identified a triangular boulder that he thinks is a Manitou stone, an American Indian marker used to identify areas of spiritual significance. He also recovered a stone ax in the debris of one partially toppled rock pile. Elsewhere, Meli found several rock projectile points.

Still, none of these clues proves the mounds are burial grounds. No one is certain e

Read the rest of this post...
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Bones of young girl found at Nipsachuk by Aluta on Saturday, 26 January 2008
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Seven hundred year old bones of a young Indian girl, thought to have been 3 to 6 years old were found under a burial mound on Nipsachuk land, adjacent to a property in Rhode Island that was threatened with development. Similar mounds are found on the land proposed for development. This casts doubt on claims by the development company, Narragansett Improvement Company, that the piles were made during colonial agricultural field clearing.

For the article in the local newspaper, The Valley Breeze, see here.
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Reprieve for threatened site in Massachusetts! by Aluta on Tuesday, 11 September 2007
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After a meeting last evening, September 10, it looks like the Montague, Mass ceremonial stone landscape site is safe from runway construction for the time being. The decision has been taken to wait until spring to allow more time for a complete assessment.

For the full article on last evening's decision, see here.
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Ceremonial Stone Site Threatened in Massachusetts by Aluta on Thursday, 30 August 2007
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A similar drama is being played out in the town of Montague, Massachusetts, with the site threatened by the building of an airport runway. See the article here.
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Nisachuk: Stay of execution by Aluta on Saturday, 18 August 2007
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I don't know where this came from originally, but the Rock Piles Blog is reporting:

Reader Tim M. send me this:

Last night, August 16th, the Town of North Smithfield Planning Board voted 3-2 to deny the applicant for Rankin Estates Development (in the Nipsachuck Swamp Area) to proceed with their Master Plan. Couple of main reasons for the denial: "While the applicant has adequately identified the natural features of the site, cultural features such as historic cemeteries, stone walls and other historic features have not been identified as required by the Regulations. For example, a stone foundation identified on the 2001 Phase I Master Plan in the area of the intersection of roadway A and roadway B is not shown on the current plan. The Constraint / Opportunity Map & Existing Condition Plan shows a number of rectangular shapes resembling structures in the vicinity of Rankin Brook. No attempt has been made to identify what these man-made features are, if they are significant, and how they fit into the development scheme."

"Whether or not the stone mounds found on the Rankin site and identified as North Smithfield Historic Cemetery # 52 and #53 are in fact burials, Native American ceremonial markers or are evidence of agrarian land clearing activities; there is no dispute that they are man-made historic cultural features that need to be located on the Master Plan as specified in Section A. Item 21 of the Master Plan Checklist. This checklist item requires that the applicant show, on all maps the location of “any unique natural and or historic features, including stone walls”. The checklist does not specify that only those features located in disturbed areas need to be identified, it states, “any” feature.

Based on this requirement of the checklist and the testimony of the Dr. Fredric F. Meli, PhD, Archaeologist and Doug Harris, Deputy Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Officer at the August 2 meeting I recommend that the Board require the applicant complete the background research of the entire property on which the proposed development is to be located as proposed in the applicant's August 2 letter, and that the field investigations described in Item b. of the letter, be expanded to include the entire site.

Also, the Board should be aware of Rhode Island General Laws §28-18-1(5) that defines an “Historic Cemetery”:

“Historic Cemetery” means any tract of land which has been for more than one hundred (100) years used as a burial place, whether or not marked with an historic marker, including but not limited to, ancient burial places known or suspected to contain the remains of one or more American Indians.

Rhode Island General Laws §23-18-11.1 prohibits the alteration or removal of any “historic cemetery” except with a permit issued by the Town Council. The law places the responsibility of protection of historic cemeteries on the town. The law is silent on who determines whether the mounds are burial places. At this point it appears that the Board will have to at least make a preliminary determination as to whether the mounds viewed on the site are ancient Indian burials raising at least a suspicion that they contain the remains of American Indians. That determination is subject to further archeological study. But until a final report is issued the mounds should be protected as historic cemeteries pending further study and identification. Given the broad definition of “Historic Cemeteries” it clearly appears that the Legislature intends us to err on the side of treating the areas as cemeteries since otherwise the damage would be irreparable. Based on the testimony of Dr. Meli and Doug Harris the Town is on notice that there is at least a suspicion that these mounds could in fact be ancient burial sites
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Latest on Nipsachuk Mounds by Aluta on Saturday, 11 August 2007
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Here is an article spelling out the situation as it stands. Some very interesting discussion is presented here. It seems that, although the land had never been flattened or cleared for the plough, developers are still claiming that the stone mounds were made by farmers clearing the land. Meanwhile, locals are chiming in, saying it has been common knowledge among area residents all along that these stone piles represent indigenous burials.

"A decision on whether the mounds are indeed burial mounds, thus disallowing the development as currently constituted, must be made by Friday Aug. 17."
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Judge Rules in Nipsachuck Case by Aluta on Wednesday, 25 July 2007
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A Superior Court judge has ruled in favour of the the developer, Narragansett Improvement Company, allowing them to move forward with plans to build. However, decisions remain to be made about what will happen to the part of the property containing the contested stone works. Meanwhile, after members of the local Conservation Commission made several visits to the site, the committee "received a letter from Narragansett Improvement attorney Michael Kelly to 'cease and desist any trespass on the property.' " The matter will be reviewed and a further decision made at a later date.

More here.
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Can Title Law Succeed if Archaeology Fails? by bat400 on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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New story on this controversy. Covenants on old deeds may point to a past understanding of the hallowed nature of the site. See this article.
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North Smithfield to Back Survey of Site by Aluta on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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A new article in the Woonsocket Call, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, tells of recent developments in this story. (It's never been clear to those of us who have studied these sites that rock piles always are graves, many seem to have been built for other ceremonial purposes, so bones may not be found. The mapping they intend to do sounds useful, but it is possible even if this is a ceremonial site, that they may find nothing to convince anyone of that. Should be interesting. --aluta)

Town to back survey of possible battle site
JOSEPH B. NADEAU, Staff Writer

An archaeological survey of lands suspected to contain an Indian burial ground and possible battle sites of King Philip’s War of 1675-1676 could be getting under way in the next few weeks after the Town Council on Monday agreed to help fund the effort.

The panel voted unanimously to contribute $1,000 in Planning Department funding needed to secure a grant of a matching sum from the Preserve Rhode Island historic preservation group.

The funding will allow Frederick F. Meli, a South Kingstown-based archaeoanthropologist, to conduct a survey of lands owned by a local family near the Nipsachuck Swamp thought to contain the historic battle sites and possible graves or ceremonial sites used by American Indians for generations.

More here.
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Re: Piles of rocks spark an American Indian mystery by Aluta on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Note, also, that the article mentions walls, although attributing them to colonials. The combination of walls and cairns is typical of the ceremonial stone landscapes mentioned in the USET resolution.
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Piles of rocks spark an American Indian mystery by bat400 on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Submitted by aluta ---

"NORTH SMITHFIELD, Rhode Island (Reuters) - In a thick forest of maple, willow and oak trees where 17th century European settlers fought hundreds of American Indians, algae-covered stones are arranged in mysterious piles.

Wilfred Greene, the 70-year-old chief of the Wampanoag Nation's Seaconke Indian tribe, says the stone mounds are part of a massive Indian burial ground, possibly one of the nation's largest, that went unnoticed until a few years ago."

More here.

Note: While this is a good sized cairn field, it is by no means the largest, as they suggest. I've heard of as many as 300 rock piles found together, for example, near Ellenville, New York.
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    Re: Piles of rocks spark an American Indian mystery by Aluta on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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    This letter to the editor was posted on the Rock Piles blog:

    More Nipsachuck - letter to the editor

    I must respond to the April 25 letter by Pete Carlson "Just piles of rocks" and the May 4 letter by Mike Martel "Not very much science in this archaeological fishing expedition."

    I have to question what credentials Messrs. Carlson and Martel possess to make such judgments regarding the mounds. I am quite certain neither has seen them, as access to the site is gained only through the North Smithfield Conservation Commission with the express consent of the landowners.

    There are more than 100 of these mounds on approximately two acres, certainly not indicative of a farmer's clearing of fields. As for what sort of a "knucklehead developer" would drive percolation pipes through these mounds, I can't answer, but there are indeed several in this condition.

    Here are the facts:

    1. Nipsachuck has long been considered a sacred site by the Wampanoags as confirmed by historic accounts of colonists' failed attempts to purchase the land from Sachem Massasoit.

    2. Written colonial accounts describe two battles fought at Nipsachuck during King Philip's War in 1675-76 during which many Native Americans were killed.

    3. Members of the Seaconke Wampanoags, including the chief and the tribe's historian, have visited the site and they confirm that the mounds are typical of Native American burials of the past.

    4. A representative of the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission has been to the site and confirmed them to be burial mounds and the site has been duly registered with the State of Rhode Island.

    5. Professors Frederick F. Meli from URI and William S. Simmons from Brown University, experts in the fields of anthropology and archaeology, have investigated the site and declared the mounds to be Native American in origin dating from 300 to 2,000 years old.

    6. Artifacts including arrow points and ax heads have been retrieved from the rubble of several of the mounds that have been previously disturbed. Based upon the size, shape, distribution of the stones, the directional orientation and the presence of stones not indigenous to the locale, the only logical conclusion is that they are indeed Native American in origin.

    The proper steps are being taken with the cooperation of the landowner, the Wampanoags, North Smithfield Town Council and all others involved to conduct urther studies in order to preserve and protect this very important site.

    PAUL H. SOARES

    North Smithfield

    The writer is the vice chairman of the North Smithfield Conservation Commission.
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    Reuters Photos of Site - Link here by bat400 on Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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    Link to Reuters photos on Yahoo.
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