More of the (New) Old Stone Row in Berlin, Massachusetts

Still Photos Taken on the Stone Row Walk-Along Featured in the Previous Post's Video

A (New) Old Stone Row by Berlin, Massachusetts’ Gates Pond. Photo by Mike Luoma.

An accidental find, thanks to a memory lapse… did I lock the car? Turning around on the trail I’d been walking on in Berlin near Gates Pond — once better known as Kequasagansett — I spied a stone row off to the right which I hadn’t noticed before. And it led back in the direction of my car.

Following the stone row and shooting it on video, I made my way back to be sure the car was locked.

1930’s Era WPA Stonework, Likely Built by Cannibalizing the Old Stone Row. Follow the Wall Slanting Away to the Left to Find the Old Stone Row Continuing Through the Snow. Photo by Mike Luoma.

The stone row begins as mostly boulders — likely many smaller stones from this wall were removed, cannibalized to build the WPA1930’s era mortared stone walls nearby. It hasn’t all been degraded, thankfully.

Click on any square to see the entire photo at a larger size. The "Outside" of the Old Stone Row. Photos by Mike Luoma.

Making my way along, I paused at particularly interesting assemblages which, to my eyes, could reflect older, Indigenous construction, with embellishments like portals and a possible Serpent’s Horn. I’d then shoot some stills before beginning to capture video once more.

Two Sides of A Triangular Gateway Stone. Click on Either to See the Entire Photo at a Larger Size. Photos by Mike Luoma.

There were farms here, and most assume the stone walls are farm walls, but many stone rows in this area appear older, possessing characteristics often seen in potential Indigenous Stone Rows: organic coursework, apparent undulations (arcs and dips in the height of the stone row), surrounded stones, serpent iconography, and the like. Some appear adapted, leveled or “repaired” for agricultural use, but the older work remains evident underneath. The intact stretches of this old stone row seem to display some of these designs.

A Possible Serpent’s Horn in the Old Stone Row. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Portal in the Old Stone Row Beside the Corner. Click the Square to See the Whole Picture. Photos by Mike Luoma.

Walking back, I noticed the shapes of some of the boulders along the more degraded section were very curious. Were they once part of a linear effigy row? Could this have originally been Indigenous work, as the intact sections seemed to indicate?

Odd-Shaped Boulders in the Old Stone Row. Click a Square for the Entire Photo. Photos by Mike Luoma.

This was an unexpected part of my outing this past weekend. I’ll have more stonework to share soon. If you’re not yet a subscriber, please consider subscribing. If you’re a free subscriber and you can afford it, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support my work. Thanks!