Rock piles on mall site will remain a mystery Cairn Pennsylvania

Submitted by Andy B on Sunday, 12 March 2006 Page Views: 9126

Country: United States State: Pennsylvania Type: Cairn

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**Cairn from Poconos cairn field** submitted by aluta : 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 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stonework that may have been ancient is now gone, cleared for a new shopping mall in Bartonsville, NE Pennsylvania. There were rock formations that resembled turtles and a wall that widened to form what looked like an arrow pointing west. An amateur archeologist who's been studying these mystery stones for two decades was hoping to see the features documented before they were bulldozed.

"At the very least, record this. Put the features on the impact studies so we have a record," said Fred Werkheiser, a preservation advocate who lives in Saylorsburg.

Werkheiser and fellow preservationist Donald Repsher compiled a 50-page booklet of his research that he gives to people who find stone cairns and other features on their property.

"The Poconos is rich in this. It's richer than any other place I've seen in northeastern Pennsylvania," said Werkheiser. "If I found I had a site like this in my backyard I'd be elated."

But most archeologists don't attribute special significance to the stone work.

"If it's not something that's recognized by the state, we don't do anything and the county doesn't do anything as far as protection," said Ed Cramer, Stroud Township supervisor.

Developer Jim Ertle said the property was once used for farming and logging. He believes any rock features there were just ordinary stone rows.

Werkheiser has found descriptions of ancient cairns, walls and other features in 18th and 19th century books.

Last summer, he discovered a book in a Canadensis antique shop by a civil engineer named Ephraim George Squier. Squier write about stone heaps, circles and stones of memorial in his 1851 "Antiquities of the State of New York."

"I've been looking for a document like that for 20 years," said Werkheiser.

He believes the sites were spiritual or ceremonial, not villages.

Six years ago, Werkheiser drew attention to stone cairns, snake-like walls and a turtle formation on the Scotrun property where Great Wolf Resort was built. About 30 percent of the rock features were destroyed, he said.

More: Pocono Record.

There is more news and photos of these mysterious sites at the new Rock Piles blog. Thanks to them for the lead.

Note: Update to add a photo of a similar cairn from Aluta. As she points out, these cairns are disappearing at a great rate and no one seems to be noticing.

Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

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