<< Text Pages >> Turner's Falls - Standing Stones in United States in New England
Submitted by bat400 on Sunday, 17 May 2009 Page Views: 9232
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Turner's FallsCountry: United States Region: New England Type: Standing Stones
Nearest Town: Greenfield, MA Nearest Village: Turner's Falls, MA
Latitude: 42.591811N Longitude: 72.523049W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Standing Stones in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
American Indians from the Narragansett, Aquinnah-Wampanoag and Mashpee-Wampanoag tribes said the site was a collection of sacred stones.
There are four stone piles atop the hill, and a row of stacked stones that extends to the southwest. The stones, gray slate and beach cobble, weigh from 5 to 60 pounds, said John Brown, tribal historic preservation officer for the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
The US National Register of Historic Places council has ruled a group of stones discovered in the path of the planned runway expansion at the Turners Falls Municipal Airport is a ''sacred ceremonial hill'' and eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places."
This ruling was despite a Federal Aviation Administration archaeologist's review stating the stones were rocks left over from a stone wall built in the 19th century and a Massachusetts historic preservation officer considering the site not eligible for a spot on the National Register.
The National Register cited: ''The site is central to the cosmology of the combined tribes and the traditions that have marked Native American sacred and ceremonial practices for numerous generations,''
''Located in the middle of the Connecticut River region of New England, this site also possesses the potential to yield important information about traditional Native American practices, beliefs and sacred rituals.''
The hill is located within the boundaries of Turners Falls Municipal Airport, a small one-runway facility built in 1960 that serves several dozen private planes. Despite its size, the airport, located next to the Connecticut River, is an important cog in the Commonwealth's emergency response plan - a strategically-located staging area where supplies can be flown in should a natural disaster occur. Plans were made to rebuild and lengthen the worn runway in 2007, using mostly federal funds to do the job, said Michael J. Sweeney, airport manager.
Before the project could be started, a land assessment was required. Environmental specialists, engineers, a team of archeologists, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe participated in that process.
The stones seemed intriguing enough to warrant further study, and the $5 million project was put on hold until a determination was made about the site.
One of several cleared areas east of the runways are possible locations of the stones. When I have more information, we'll post it here.
Read two articles at the Turner's Falls Recorder and at Boston.com.
Note: Hidden Landscapes DVD series documents Turner's Falls stone site.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
24.3km WNW 289° Burnt Hill Heath* Stone Circle
24.7km N 352° Humming Stone Guilford (Summstein) Modern Stone Circle etc
28.6km SW 236° Balanced rock Goshen* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
29.1km SSW 200° Potential Grinding Stone at Northampton Site Polissoir
29.1km SSW 200° Early Archaic Settlement Site on North King Street* Ancient Village or Settlement
30.6km N 355° Brattleboro Petroglyphs Rock Art
52.5km E 101° Wachusett Stone* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
60.8km N 6° Bellows Falls Petroglyphs* Rock Art
62.1km W 262° Balance Stone Lanesborough Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
66.9km WSW 257° EarthGate Circle Modern Stone Circle etc
90.4km SSE 166° Connecticut Archaeology Center* Museum
96.6km NE 36° Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum Museum
99.2km SW 227° Giant's Thumb and mound* Standing Stone (Menhir)
106.0km SE 131° Nipsachuk Cairn
108.2km N 360° Calendar II* Artificial Mound
110.8km ENE 75° America's Stonehenge* Ancient Village or Settlement
117.8km ESE 120° Foxborough Prayer Seat (2)* Cairn
117.9km ESE 120° Foxborough Prayer Seat (11)* Cairn
117.9km ESE 120° Foxborough Perched Boulder (1)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
118.0km ESE 120° Foxborough Stone Pile* Cairn
118.0km ESE 120° Foxborough Prayer Seat (4)* Cairn
118.0km ESE 120° Foxborough Prayer Seat and Stone Ring* Cairn
118.0km ESE 120° Foxborough Perched Boulder (5)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
118.0km ESE 120° Foxborough Perched Boulder (2)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
118.1km ESE 120° Foxborough Cairn* Cairn
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<< Sacred Stone Site Diverts Expansion of Massachusetts Airport
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
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