Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Madame P and I recently visited Mystery Hill in Salem, New Hampshire. Also known as "America's Stonehenge" (you can Google it), this is a Neolithic standing stone site, estimated to be some 4000 years old.

It is an accurate astronomical calendar, with standing stones marking the solstices, equinoxes, certain Celtic holiday and/or festival dates--such as May Day and Sowen/Halloween--and various lunar conjunctions. The site covers some 200 acres of heavily wooded hilltop. There are reputedly Phoenician writings, Viking runes, and other symbols open to interpretation, along with a sacrificial table complete with drainage channels for the blood.

There is a problem, however. No one knows who constructed it or why. The standing stones, altho in some cases weighing many tons, are not very tall, and the thick forest surrounding them would have had to be cleared for many acres in every direction to view the horizon for the sunrises and sunsets, an immense amount of work to both do initially and to maintain. This would have required the concerted effort of many people, and it is doubtful any early European visitors to North America would have arrived in numbers large enough to construct such a site, or have had the free time to do so.

The natives of the region were largely hunter/gatherers, with no apparent need for an agricultural clock, as it were, nor is there any evidence they had the written language, organized religion, mathematics, or astronomical knowledge that would have been necessary to construct or maintain the site.

Archeology at the site has so far not provided a definitive answer as to whom the original builders might have been.

Madame P maintains it was some of her own ancestors that did the job, using witchcraft. About as likely as any other explanation, and no one can prove her wrong.

I'll include a few cell phone snaps here, to give an idea as to scale and distances, and a model of the site. But note the heavy woods, and as the marker stones are only four or five feet high, one quickly sees the need to have those trees cleared along the lines of sight. The 'Central Observatory' structure is (obviously) recent, and contains a table showing what date or solar event each standing stone marks.

A line drawn directly east from the site and extended across the ocean directly crosses England's Stonehenge. Coincidence?

Central 'Observatory'


Note the Standing Stone in the distance


Note Size of Stone left of tall man




Site Model

John Lawrence

Looks like an interesting trip, Randy. Thanks for taking us along.

cmc65

"In the beginning there be Giants on the earth"

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks for stopping by, John, and apologies that these are only cell phone snapshots. I first visited this place some thirty years ago, figured it was about time for another trip with my favorite Dark Lady. It's only about half an hour north of the city, just off Rt. 111, so it's easy to get to. There is some hiking involved to get up to the site, not terribly difficult, but I found myself a little breathless (and not from staring at Madame P, whom I personally find more interesting than standing stones, lol) by the time we got to the top, and I'm in pretty good shape.

Glad you enjoyed the 'tour,' and thanks as always for coming along!

blacks2 Loc: SF. Bay area

Randy would DNA work? I think that giant drones were involved in this.

angler Loc: StHelens England

It's amazing that these circles are to be found all over the world and thanks for sharing Randy.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

"...and that which we are, we are." And we can only marvel at how supposedly 'primitive' people managed to build some of the things they did, without using the technology and tools we have at our disposal today. On the plus side, unlike Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids, where the stone had to be quarried and carried many miles to their eventual building sites, New Hampshire's granite was right there, so that saved some work transporting the stones. Still, one wonders why it was built...

Thanks for coming along on the 'tour,' it's much appreciated!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Very interesting, Treepusher. I'd no idea we had a site like this in the U.S. Thanks for posting and taking time to write the summary.
--Bob

suci Loc: Texas

Very interesting. Enjoyed your story with the pictures.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks, Mike. Can't say you're wrong with the giant drones, lol. Gotta figure somebody built some serious muscles lugging these stones around and setting up the site. Unless aliens did it, and used their anti-gravity machines for transporting the rocks, lol. I'd have to figure aliens would have used metal, not rock, and probably would have put up a permanent viewing platform, but who knows alien construction techniques? Rock IS pretty long-lasting, maybe they figured it would outlast metal, and used it maybe because they planned on coming back someday... Oooooh!

But the site itself if spooky quiet. All those woods, and not a bird or cricket chirping.

Thanks for your fun comment and visit, always much appreciated!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks, Angler, and curious indeed. Were they developed independently or were they copied? Same stars and solstices, of course, but...

Lots of unanswered questions, but fun to think about. I suspect Madame P is right--it was all done with witchcraft, lol.

Glad you enjoyed the short 'tour' and thanks as always for coming along.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks, Bob. Apparently there are others, but this is the largest one they've found so far. I've heard there are sites as far west as Oklahoma, tho can't vouch for the truth of that. Mystery Hill is fascinating to consider. Who? Why? And when? For how long?

Campfires have been carbon dated to hundreds of years prior to the arrival of modern European settlers in the region. Bones supposedly dissolve in the damp soil too quickly to expect to find anything much older than a thousand years. And the hill was inhabited by a family in the late 1700's and early 1800's, who reported what they found there.

But who or what were the original builders sacrificing on that table? Humans? Animals? We'll likely never know. Some mysteries may remain exactly that.

Thanks for taking time to view this 'tour.' One of the more fascinating places I've been.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks, Janos. This one's a little different from my usual stories, lol. But everything is true, so far as current knowledge of the site goes. Archeological operations are on-going, but so far haven't yielded any conclusive answers on the major questions of who built the place and why. A fascinating and fun day trip, if you're ever in the area.

Thanks for coming along on the 'tour,' and glad you enjoyed it!

greggsan2 Loc: Guam Island USA

The pictures and the mood presented in the misty color leaves one with a mysterious impression. Beautiful!
Gregg SN

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Thanks, Gregg. Glad you enjoyed the 'tour.' A very strange place. I didn't get the idea there were ghosts watching us, but it was eerily quiet, for a heavily wooded area on a summer day. No birds chirping, no insects droning, nothing. Dead silence. The day of our visit was overcast, so an element of gloom added to the odd feel of the site.

Thanks for the positive comments and coming along on the 'tour.' Appreciate it!