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Description
Here's a picture of a cairn from a cairn field similar to and not far from the one destroyed at Bartonsville.
I have a lot of cairn pictures from up in the Poconos (Monroe County, PA), nearly all from the cairn field this one was in.
Thanks for posting that article.
Aluta
I have a lot of cairn pictures from up in the Poconos (Monroe County, PA), nearly all from the cairn field this one was in.
Thanks for posting that article.
Aluta
Posted Comments:
Ethelwulf (2006-08-13)
Is this ancient? Or is it a folly from recent decades?
it's an intriguing shot nevertheless. A bit of overall darkening would perhaps enhance the image further, Aluta.
aluta (2007-01-16)
This was one of about 34 rockpiles there at the time. Some have been destroyed since but this one's still there. The site appeared to be old. There is a rock shelter near the top of the ridge above them. It's hard to say what the site originally looked like because a road runs right through the middle of it.
You're right about the darkening.
You're right about the darkening.
tashi (2007-05-05)
One never knows about these cairns -- but here's a tip or two for what it's worth.
How well constructed is it? Is it sturdy? Any sign of tree trunks decomposing around it? Trees are the main enemy -- when they fall, the rocks will budge. A hardwood tree like an oak takes up to 50 years or more to decompose completely depending on the climate -- if there's no sign of fallen trees (pits with scattered rocks from uprooting, or trunks, or mounds of rotting wood under leaves, etc.) the cairn could be old even in this condition.
The real sign is the stones -- how weathered they are. The shales of the Allegheney plateau vary in hardness, etc. but they all weather predictably, some faster than others, and nearly all of them will turn a lighter color with age especially on the sides exposed directly to light and rain. Buried, they weather evenly on all sides; in a cairn, the outside edges and tops weather faster. So check the stones -- if some are rougher/lighter/more pitted than others, some are sharp others not, etc., that is sign of repair. If they're all jaggy and there's a new house construction nearby, well, it's the rock the blasted out for the basement! It's a process of elimination -- to me this one looks old, and very solidly built.
How well constructed is it? Is it sturdy? Any sign of tree trunks decomposing around it? Trees are the main enemy -- when they fall, the rocks will budge. A hardwood tree like an oak takes up to 50 years or more to decompose completely depending on the climate -- if there's no sign of fallen trees (pits with scattered rocks from uprooting, or trunks, or mounds of rotting wood under leaves, etc.) the cairn could be old even in this condition.
The real sign is the stones -- how weathered they are. The shales of the Allegheney plateau vary in hardness, etc. but they all weather predictably, some faster than others, and nearly all of them will turn a lighter color with age especially on the sides exposed directly to light and rain. Buried, they weather evenly on all sides; in a cairn, the outside edges and tops weather faster. So check the stones -- if some are rougher/lighter/more pitted than others, some are sharp others not, etc., that is sign of repair. If they're all jaggy and there's a new house construction nearby, well, it's the rock the blasted out for the basement! It's a process of elimination -- to me this one looks old, and very solidly built.
RSleepy (2008-01-15)
Well whatever age these are, what vandals go around destroying these beautiful cairns? Interesting that they all seems of similar construction - a massive boulder topped by carefall dry-stone walling.
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