Neara Spring Meeting 2008

Neara Fall Meeting 2007

Neara Special Event in Nova Scotia 2007

Neara Spring Meeting 2007

Neara Fall Meeting 2006

Neara Spring Meeting 2006

Neara Fall Meeting 2005

Neara Spring Meeting 2005

Neara Fall Meeting 2004 - 40th Anniversary Part 2

Neara Spring Meeting 2004 - 40th Anniversary Part 1

Neara Fall Meeting 2003

Neara Spring Meeting 2003

Neara Fall Meeting 2002 - ABC+10 Conference

NEARA's Spring Meeting April 25-27, 2008

Clarion Hotel & Conference Center

Northampton, Massachusetts

Featuring: ● Mystery Walls of Nova Scotia ● C-14 Dating ● Land of the Sky Inscriptions ● Glastenbury Mt. Cairns ● Brazilian Rock Art ● Indain Trails ● Yankee Root Cellars ● Stone Chambers ● the many battles over Nipsachuck Hill ● and a new coherent methodology for identifying stone sites in New England.

Schedule of Conference Events

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Conference Field Trips

Clarion Hotel Rates & Directions

Conference Registration

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Schedule of Events

Friday April 25th

Saturday April 26th

Sunday April 27th

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Terry J. Deveau: The Ruins of the Chain Lakes Watershed Area near Halifax, NS

An extensive set of heavily built stone walls are located in what was for many years a remote wooded area outside of Halifax, NS.  Previously known only to a few local woodsmen, these inexplicable ruins were brought to public attention in 1990 when they were threatened by the development of the Bayer’s Lake Business Park, one of the largest commercial developments in all of Atlantic Canada.  Now fairly well known as the Bayer’s Lake “Mystery” Walls, and after a few small-scale investigations by government and university researchers, the walls have received some protection from encroaching development, but no really satisfactory explanation for their existence has yet been found.  Beginning in 2002, Terry Deveau has undertaken a personal research project to investigate not only the walls themselves, but the entire surrounding undeveloped area (called the Chain Lakes Watershed) to uncover any additional ruins or other clues that can lead to a fuller explanation.  This work has involved not only a methodical crisscrossing ground search of rugged terrain covering 2.5 sq. km, but also many hours pouring over old records in the Provincial and Municipal archives, the registry of deeds,  rare books, maps, and documents held in various library special collections.  Terry’s talk will present an overview of his results to date, including several additional ruin sites, and how they are linked to each other, as well as, where they fit (or not) in the spectrum of the documented 400 years of European settlement in Nova Scotia.

 

  

Terry J. Deveau lives in Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, and works as a software developer and defence contractor, specializing in computer models of underwater sound and sonar performance.  He holds a BSc in Math and a Diploma in Engineering from Saint Mary's University, as well as a Master of Science in Acoustics from Penn State University.  Over the past eight years, Terry has been devoting much of his spare time to investigating reports of unusual stone ruins in NS.  Terry has been a member of NEARA since 2003 and the Maritime Canada Region Coordinator since 2005.  Terry is also a member of the Nova Scotia Archaeology Society (NSAS), the Nova Scotia Historical Society (NSHS), and La société historique acadienne (SHA).

Doug Schwartz: Operation of a Swamp Yankee Root Cellar

This is a video interview with Whit Davis, an 83-year-old Swamp Yankee, who gave us a tour of his family's c. 1670 farmhouse at the mouth of the Pawcatuck River in Stonington, CT.  He explained how he and his family stored 350 bushels of turnips, 200 jars of preserves, butter, potatoes, crocks of salt pork, barrels of cider and apples, etc., with room to spare.  Even during World War II, when President Roosevelt exhorted American farmers to produce enough food to feed the world, they never came close to exceeding the capacity of the cellar.  This puts the lie to the typical explanation of stone chambers as having been built as root cellars.  There would have been no need to do so until the arrival of coal furnaces in the 19th Century.  The Davis family never installed a furnace, instead opting to use stoves and the original fireplaces for heating, until Whit moved out about 15 years ago.  The Davis farmstead is a remarkable window into the past, where salt hay is still harvested to this day, one of the last such operations in New England.  This National Register listed farm is being preserved as a museum to document a remarkable example of a bygone era.  For further details: www.stantondavishomestead.org 

Doug Schwartz is a long time NEARA member and the Connecticut State Coordinator.  He is a supervisor with the U.S. Postal Service.

Polly Midgley: Enigmatic Stone Chambers

This presentation focuses primarily on the location of chambers, the patterns that emerge and the possible stories these patterns suggest.

  

Polly Midgley is a long time NEARA member and the New York State Coordinator of the Hudson Valley region.  She lives near many stone chambers in NY's Westchester and Putnam Counties where she knows the geography well.  Polly has family members who have lived in this area for a very long time. This intimate knowledge of the land and the sites has benefited her research and allowed for many valuable observations.  This type of information deserves to be preserved and NEARA tries to do so but it has become more difficult to come by as sites disappear, streams get piped underground, earth turns into parking lots and long time residents often move elsewhere. Polly believes these insights have helped provide good judgment about the sites.  

Cathy Taylor: Indian Trails and Stone Works

Native American trails were the original networks connecting people and places.  The Great Trail went from Jamaica Pond in Boston, to Framingham, to Grafton, then down to Webster Lake, and then over to Windsor Falls in Connecticut.  Waterfalls, a great lake, and the source of all rivers were key places along the way.   A stone chamber in Upton and a stone chamber in Webster are two famous stone works along this path.  The trails eventually became cart paths and then roads for the English colonists.  Underlying our busy highways and roads is an older system of connections that can shed light on a different way of living long ago.  This power point presentation will be filled with maps and photos of stone works of interest along the way.

 

Cathy Taylor is a NEARA member and also a member of the National Council for Geocosmic Research. Interest in the astronomy of the Ohio Earth Mounds led to a NEARA presentation last spring and an article that was recently published in the winter NCGR journal.  Cathy also has a strong interest in New England stone chambers and is on the Upton Historical Commission.

Rob Carter: C-14 Dating: A Simplified Explanation

In this talk Rob will explain the scientific in very easy to understand terms the process for Carbon 14 dating, a valuable tool in archaeological dating.

 

Rob Carter is a long time NEARA member, a NEARA board member and our resident ‘audio/visual’ specialist at the NEARA conferences.

Zena Halpern: Tanit in Onteora?

Onteora is the Native American name for “Land in the Sky” and describes the Catskill Mountains of New York State.  Within the Neversink River Valley three inscribed stones with ancient scripts and symbols have been found in the last several years.  Zena’s presentation will discuss a stone found in 2006, which may shed important light on the pre-history of the valley and the area to the northeast.  From the spiral petroglyph in the valley where the stones were found and continuing northeast eighteen miles, the Hammonasset Line aligns with Devil’s Tombstone at Stony Clove where two mountains face each other, Hunter and Plateau. The significance of the area and the meaning of the inscribed stone found in 2006 will be discussed in light of the extraordinary implication that ancient voyagers traveled to this area and carved their ancient scripts and symbols on stones.

 

Zena Halpern is a long time NEARA member of almost 20 years.   She was taking graduate courses at NYU from Cyrus Gordon.  Cyrus Gordon came to NYU after a lengthy stay at Brandeiss University where he headed the department of Mediterranean Studies.  In 1971, his groundbreaking book was published; "Before Columbus: Links Between the Old World and Ancient America."   Gordon's theories of trans-oceanic contact and his dynamic teaching sent Zena on a quest that has continued for 35 years. Upon retirement in 1998, she began intensive investigation for evidence of ancient seafaring, ancient ships and harbor construction along the east Mediterranean coast. She has traveled to Crete, Mexico, Israel, Greece and states in the US, where reports have come in of inscribed stones in ancient alphabets.  She is presently writing a book about connections between the eastern Mediterranean, Iberia, Mexico and American sites. She has her B.A. from Long Island University, and her M.A., New York University. 

Norman Muller: Glastenbury Mountain Cairns

About ten years ago, Dave Lacy, chief archaeologist with the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, discovered three cairns just below the summit and off the trail to Glastenbury Mountain in southern Vermont.  In late summer 2007, a group of five, consisting of Lisa Gannon, Ted Timreck , the speaker and his son Peter, plus Tom Wessels, ecologist and author, climbed the six plus miles to the cairn site to investigate and photograph the cairns.  Based on lichen and plant cover, the cairns appear to predate by a considerable amount the first documented activity on the mountain.  The cairns are compared with other, similar cairns found at much lower altitudes.

 

Norman Muller is an art conservator affiliated with the Princeton University Art Museum, where he has worked and lectured for the past twenty-five years. For the past ten years he has been researching the stone ruins at various sites in the Northeast, and has lectured to various organizations, such as the Eastern States Archaeological Federation and NEARA, on his work.  Nine web articles Norman has written on various aspects of stone constructions have been posted on the Internet in the past ten years (see http://rock-piles.com/muller.html). An article on the Oley Hills site in eastern Pennsylvania, titled “Accenting the Landscape: Interpreting the Oley Hills Site,” will appear in a book titled Semiotics in Landscape II, edited by George Nash of the University of Bristol, England.

Peter Anick: Rock Art of Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park

Pedra Furada became one of the most controversial archaeological sites in the Americas when a hearth there was dated to over 50,000 years ago.  Less controversial is the visual record of 12,000 years of human activity exposed in hundreds of pictograph panels in the surrounding Serra da Capivara escarpment.  Peter will present an account of his five-day visit to the site in 2005, describing the chronology of rock art styles and showing examples which range in subject matter from extinct megafauna through depictions of ritual and hunting scenes to shamanic symbols.

 

Peter Anick develops information retrieval technology at Yahoo! and writes articles on folk and jazz fiddling for Fiddler Magazine but his interest in archaeology predates his involvement with both computers and music.   Over the years, he has made a point of seeking out rock art sites off the beaten path, including cave paintings in France, Paleolithic engravings in Portugal, Norwegian helleristninger and songline figures in central Australia.  Since joining NEARA, he’s been happy to discover that there are sites near enough to drive to!

Joe Bonni: Tear Down Their Altars, Smash Their Sacred Stones: A Call for Methodological Innovation in Understanding and Identifying Native Sacred Spaces in New England

You must completely destroy all the places where the nations you dispossess have served their gods, on high mountains, on hills, under any spreading tree; you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, burn their sacred poles, hack to bits the statues of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.

- Deuteronomy 12: 2-3

In the summer of 2007 I spent my second season in the woods of Grafton, MA with Steven Mrozowski in search of one of Reverend Eliot’s “Praying Villages.”  At this time, I was particularly interested in the specific question of whether or not the Reverend John Eliot intentionally exploited sacred Native American spaces when choosing locations for his 17^th century church communities.  Unfortunately, we did not find the Rev Eliot’s Church and as a result I was unable to answer my question regarding the possible Colonial and Christian exploitation of native sacred space.  But after my time spent in the field with Mrozowski, conversations with both a number of academic archaeologists and avocational archaeologists, and an initial smattering of readings I was convinced to broaden my topic.  It became apparent to me that even if the church had been found on Mrozowski’s dig, any attempt to investigate whether the Christian church had been built on native sacred space would have been inhibited by a lack of archaeological recognition of built native sacred spaces in New England.  While built spaces, particularly those involving stonework, are widely accepted throughout most of North America as ubiquitous and a common manner in which Native Americans demarcated sacred space, the opposite is true in much of the northeastern US.  As a result, I have become interested in a more general question - and criticism - regarding why historical archaeologists in New England have ignored the importance of stone features as potentially indicative of native spaces, and how this lack of recognition, and the lack of a useful typology of such sites, inhibits the ability to answer questions such as the one I initially posed for Eliot.  Additionally, there are concerns that such an omission has resulted and continues to result in the misidentification of culturally significant landscapes resulting in no protection of such spaces.

 

In a short paper I am now proposing to offer a new coherent methodology for identifying stone sites in New England.  However, I will analyze this longstanding but potentially aberrant position against the very idea of identifying stonework in New England as extant indigenous constructions; and then suggest a number of (I hope) potent and useful criticisms of the biases involved in establishing typologies/classification systems – that is the institutional power of academia in deciding what is “useful” or “real” in regards to classification - and the potential negative impact resulting from a lack of input from indigenous peoples and other non-academics. Avocational archaeologists’ work in this field is extensive and deserves the interest and timely review by academic and state archaeologists who may be lagging behind their amateur counterparts in regards to innovation, imagination, and boundary pushing.  We have invented endless ceramic and projectile point classification systems but nothing for stone and lithic sites.  Sites which some say are densely and ubiquitously scattered across New England geography possessing much to tell about the lives of the people who built and utilized them but yet potentially silenced by a lack of recognition. 

 

Joe Bonni is a Graduate student at the University of Chicago and this is his Masters Thesis.

Dr. Fred Meli: Nipsachuck Hill and Swamp Area North Smithfield Rhode Island:  A Battle Field Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Nipsachuck Hill and Swamp Area, a 21^st century battlefield:  A place riddled in mystery, misinformation and historic accounts that are often contradicting.  The location is real enough; it lies west of route 7 (Douglas Pike) and north of the junctions of Rt. 7 and Rt. 104, in North Smithfield, RI.  However, Smithfield a neighboring town also lays claim to the site of the battles in the King Phillip’s War.  The present day conflict is over jurisdiction and interpretations.  Some see the site as a possible historical park, native museum; others see it as gravel pit ripe for harvesting. The battle lines are thus drawn (pun intended): historical commission, developers, land owners and concerned neighbors.

 

  

 

Dr. Frederick Meli Archaeologist:  He is a full-time consultant, director and lead archaeologist with Archaeological Services and Consulting.  He has been involved in extensive fieldwork in Eastern Europe, Central Europe, North East America, (New England) and Central America.  His earliest work was centered on the Mound Builders and the Tombigbee peoples.  His current work involves the study of Pre-Columbian indigenous cultures and their construction of public ceremonial and burial landscapes throughout New England and Canada.  He is also presently working on a book:  Stone Ceremonial Landscapes of New England, with Lexington Press.

Field Trips Sponsored by Brenda Toomey, Massachusetts State Coordinator

● Friday Field Trip: 25 April 2008

There will be a field trip leaving the Clarion Hotel, in Northampton, MA, between 12:00 and 12:30.  We will see some of the many chambers and lithic features that exist in Franklin County, Massachusetts.   Due to the limited parking on the country roads where we are going, and the high cost of gas, participants are encouraged to car pool.  We will return before 6:00 in the evening.   

 ● Sunday Field Trip: 27 April 2008

There will be one field trip, which will leave the hotel by 9:30 in the morning.  We will see more of the chambers and lithic features in Franklin County.  Of special interest will be the complex of corbelled chambered in Shutesbury, on and around Mt. Mineral, including the Monks Chamber.  There is a spiritual retreat on the top of this mountain and we will hike up the hill to see the carved stone, which has the figure on it that NEARA has adopted for its logo.  If it is possible, one driver will be asked to drive those who have difficulty walking.  Again people are encouraged to car pool and share the cost of gas.  

Important Notice for Sunday’s Field Trip: 

 

In Leverett, MA, we will stop at The Village Co-op and General Store, which sells ready-made sandwiches. It has the only bathroom we will see on this field trip.  I have spoken to the owners and learned they will need at least 6 days notice to have enough sandwiches on Sunday for our group.  Please let me know if you think you would like to buy a sandwich.  I will call our order in to the store in advance. Please call me (Brenda Toomey) at 508-885-0993, and leave a message, or email me at brendatoomey@verizon.net.

 

More details on these field trips, including maps and directions, will be given out at the conference.  People may need to know that because of the hilly terrain where we are going, most cell phones will not work.

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Lodgings: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center

Northampton, Massachusetts

Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 1 Atwood Drive, Northampton, MA 01060.  Toll-Free: 800-582-2929, Phone: 413-586-1211, Fax: 413-586-0630, Email Address, Website.

Ideally located off Interstate 91, the Clarion Hotel^® & Conference Center welcomes you to the culturally rich city of Northampton, the beautiful Connecticut River Valley and the famous Five Colleges area, home to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Hampshire College, Smith College, Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College.

NEARA has secured a rate of $99.00 per night, plus applicable sales taxes for single or double occupancy, and $109.00 per night, plus applicable sales taxes for triple or quad occupancy.  When you call to make your reservations, mention that you are a NEARA member and verify that you are receiving the special rate. 

Additional points of interest in the area include:

● Six Flags New England Amusement Park

● Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens

● Deerfield Academy college preparatory school

● CLARKE - School for the Deaf / Center for Oral Education

● Bradley International Airport

● Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show

● William D. Mullins Memorial Center entertainment venue

Montana's Steakhouse, located on the premises, serves a delicious breakfast and a full menu nightly. The on-site Montana's Piano Bar also offers great fare in a relaxing environment. Room service is also available.

Email: hotelhelp@choicehotels.com

Website: http://www.clarionhotel.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=MA117&promo=gglocal

Important Notice: The cut-off date for NEARA special rates is April 1^st so call to reserve your room now!!  After the cut-off date, all rooms being held for NEARA will be released back into general inventory and any requests made after April 1^st will be subject to room availability.

Please make your reservations by April 1st.

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Spring Meeting registrations form.  Please print the form, fill it out, and mail it in to the address on the form.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

Notice: NEARA Members receive a discount on the registration fee.  If you would like to become a NEARA member there is a Membership Application attached to the Registration Form. 

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NEARA 2008 Fall Meeting:

7-9 November 2008, Mainstay Inn, Newport, Rhode Island

NEARA's Fall Meeting November 2-4, 2007

Holiday Inn - New London Connecticut

Featuring: Archaeoastronomy, Newport Tower Up-Date, Spirit Pond, Charcoal Making Sites, Minoan Calendar, Hammonasset Line.

 

Schedule of Conference Events

Conference Highlights & Field Trips

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Holiday Inn Rates & Directions

Conference Registration

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Schedule of Events

Friday November 2nd

Saturday November 3rd

Sunday November 4th

Conference Highlights & Field Trips

● Mashantucket Pequot Museum: Visit on your own

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Steve Voluckas:  Oakes, Ponds, and Standing Stones

New insights from previously noted and recently noticed features at Spirit Pond that may contribute to the search for, evaluation of, and understanding of sites from Nova Scotia to Rhode Island.  A relationship has been noticed between tidal ponds or estuaries, the presence of very large red oak trees, and medieval type structures or features.  This relationship could be useful in the search for evidence of settlements, contact with native populations, and activities such as boat building.  NEARA members may be interested in checking if this relationship exists at locations they are researching.  

Steve Voluckas is a professional pilot for a small regional airline, Island Airlines, flying between Hyannis and Nantucket, Massachusetts.  He served in the US Coast Guard 1968-72.  Other interests include:  Producer/director of public access television programs on Cape Cod Community Media Center – Comcast Channel 17 mid-Cape area.  Member of the planning committee for the annual Multicultural Festival of Cape Cod, held in March at the Cape Cod Community College.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Cape Cod Immigrant Center and is a member of the Lithuanian-American Community of Cape Cod.  In September 2005, I began research into Norse settlement sites on/near Cape Breton, Nova Scotia that I believed corresponded to the Vinland Sagas.  Following the NEARA meeting held in Concord New Hampshire, he visited Spirit Pond in Maine for the first time, believing it held a key to connecting many of the “puzzle pieces” we have all been studying and found more than he expected!

Dr. John B. Carlson:  Archaeoastronomy and the Study of Astronomy in Culture in New England and beyond: Some Perspectives for Further Discussion

Beginning with the publication of J. Norman Lockyer’s “The Dawn of Astronomy” in 1894, Archaeoastronomy has developed into the interdisciplinary study of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythologies, religions and world-views of all ancient cultures… and the surviving indigenous peoples of today. (Investigations of contemporary native astronomies have come to be called “Ethnoastronomy.”) With many important amateur contributions, the discipline has transcended its early beginnings as “Astro-archaeology” – largely devoted to the measurement and interpretation of alignments of structures and sites – to become the broad-based study of astronomy in culture. Essentially the anthropology of astronomy and world-view, Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy has blossomed into active interdisciplinary fields that are providing new perspectives for the history of our species’ interaction with the cosmos. This would include many interrelated interests in ancient and native calendar systems, astrologies, concepts of time and space, mathematics, counting systems and geometry, surveying and navigational techniques, as well as “geomancy” and the origins of urban planning. One hallmark of the new research paradigm is productive cooperation between professionals and amateurs from many backgrounds and cultures. In this informal presentation, some perspectives are presented for discussion on amateur Archaeoastronomy and Archaeology in New England and beyond.

John B. Carlson, a radio and extragalactic astronomer by training, is the Director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy, a non-profit institute for research and education related to interdisciplinary studies of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, religions and world-views of ancient civilizations and the contemporary indigenous cultures of the world. In this capacity, Dr. Carlson is an expert on Native American astronomy specializing is studies of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and is the Editor of the ARCHAEOASTRONOMY Journal, published by the University of Texas Press. The art, iconography, calendar systems and hieroglyphic writing of the Maya and Highland Mexican civilizations are particular interests, and he has published and lectured extensively in these fields. A photographic essay on “America’s Ancient Skywatchers” was published in the March 1990 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.  A review of his research into ancient Mesoamerican practices of Venus-regulated sacred warfare and ritual sacrifice in the context of Teotihuacan, entitled “The Rise and Fall of the City of the Gods,” appeared as the cover article of the Nov./Dec. 1993 ARCHAEOLOGY Magazine. The “archaeology of pilgrimage” is a current special research interest. In this context, he was the organizer of the October 2000 Dumbarton Oaks Symposium on “Pilgrimage and the Ritual Landscape in Pre-Colombian America” and is currently completing a book on the “Equinox Serpent of Light and Shadow Phenomenon” which takes place at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent at Chichén Itzá, Yucatan. Carlson is Senior Lecturer in the University Honors Program, University of Maryland  –  College Park, where  he  teaches  courses  in  Astronomy, Anthropology and  the History of Science.

Mary and James Gage: America's Stonehenge: The History of a Sacred Place

This film reconstructs the 2500 year cultural history of the America's Stonehenge archaeological site located in North Salem, NH. The complex of stone chambers, standing stones, niches, and other stone structures at the site served as an important spiritual and ritual center for a group of ancient Native American people. For the Native Americans this place was sacred. Construction of this ritual complex began over 3,000 years ago and evolved through five major periods of construction and change until its final closure with the arrival of European colonists. The Native Americans left an extraordinary archaeological record of their ritual activities and spiritual beliefs.

Mary Gage, author an independent researcher, has meticulously researched this site for many years and has successfully reconstructed its cultural history. This film is based upon her book, America's Stonehenge Deciphered (2006).

Richard Lynch: Charcoal-Burners, Carbonari, and Freemasons

Scattered throughout the New England landscape and  many   other   areas  of  the  country,  are the remains  of  what  was once a flourishing industry of “charcoal making.”  The impressive stone remains and mounds are only a hint of what was once a thriving economy.  Who built these structures?  Most were built by members and decedents of a secret political society; the “Carbonari.”  The similarity between the secret society of the Carbonari and the Freemasons is evident and unmistakable.  My presentation will tell of the history of the “charcoal burners” from their roots in Italy, Portugal, and France and their impact on the development of early America

Rick Lynch is the past president of NEARA.  He has had a very long interest in history and archaeology, especially in the areas of New England and the American Southwest.  He has many other areas of  diverse  interest  including,  astronomy,  UFOs and railroading.

Dr. Jack Dempsey: The Minoan Great Year Calendar: Secrets of Time, Life and Power in Ancient Crete

The calendar of ancient Greece is still with us in the 4-year timing of The Olympic Games. But that calendar’s origins were not understood until Charles F. Herberger’s 1972 discovery of the 8½-year lunar/solar cycle called The Great Year in Bronze Age Minoan Crete. In fact, the Minoan calendar has been hiding in plain sight, in the decorative border of the famous Toreador or Bull-Leaping Fresco from Cnossos Labyrinth. How does this calendar work? What are its anchors in natural observation, astronomical tradition, and religious symbolism? How does The Great Year bring new understandings of ancient Crete’s social organization and spirituality? And what secrets of time, life and power woven into this artifact can help us understand why Minoan civilization was the longest and most prosperous period of Western development on record?

Dr. Jack Dempsey (Ph.D. Brown University) is a writer, editor and producer of works on ancient Greece and early America. This lecture draws upon his latest work, “Calendar House,” whose 9 chapters and 280 illustrations work to demonstrate the validity of Charles F. Herberger’s discovery of the Minoan Great Year in The Toreador Fresco from Gnossos.

Evan Pritchard & Tom Paul: Hammonasset Line: A Solstice and Spiritual Marker

Summer Solstice sunset at Fort Pond Hill 6/21/06 Gardner’s Point and Plumb Island by the sun. (Photo by Tom Paul)   .

This talk will explore a solstice line from the perspectives of two people who have begun separate research work on this subject, coming up with similar conclusions. Tom Paul first studied stone markers in north Madison, CT in the summer of 1995.  Early on it became evident that there was a solstice line located by his home, and by spring of 1996 he had named it the Hammonasset Line because the Native American tribe living in that area was the Hammonassets.  Since that time many stone structures have been found on or associated with this line, Montauk to Hunter Mountain and beyond. Evan Pritchard, in his book “Native New Yorkers,” used sources from archaeology, cartography, linguistics and also the oral traditions of Long Island’s Native Americans to help establish the existence of solstice lines from Montauk westward. He will start the discussion by examining line associated with “mortuary cities” on Long Island.  He will present his case for the existence of the line along with its possible development and usage.  Evan will use maps and examples of important markers from Montauk to Upper New York State.  Tom will then follow by reviewing what he has found along the solstice line from Montauk to Hunter, NY, noting different types of stone structures, their age and meaning. Some structures are in the form of cairn fields.  It is felt that these cairn fields are a burial marker or a memorial marker for native people who have died and placed on or near by a sacred line marker, the Hammonasset Line.  Other structures such as prayer seats, standing stones, stone effigies, shaped stones and viewing platforms appear to have spiritual meaning.  Evan will continue by exploring the possibility of a continuation of the solstice line from the Catskills to northern Canada. He will indicate important areas for the Algonquin and Iroquois along this way. 

The Hammonasset Line:   ● Originally presented by Tom Paul at the 2001 NEARA Spring Meeting. . ● Tom Paul's 2 Part NEARA Report on the Hammonassett Line. . ● Further updates by Tom Paul on the Hammonassett Line at the 2005 NEARA Fall Meeting: The Large Standing Stones and Perched Boulders of the Hammonasset Line. .

Tom Paul has a Masters Degree in engineering, attended Duke University and New Jersey Institute of Technology.  He retired in 2006 from the 3M Co. Tom is a member of many organizations and currently is the Treasurer for NEARA.  

 

Evan Pritchard is director of the center for Algonquin Culture.  Evan is of Micmac, Wampanoag and Celtic descent.  Through his lectures and books, such as, ‘No Word for Time’ and ‘Native New Yorker,’ he has worked to highlight the importance of Algonquin culture in North American history.  Evan is a professor of Native American History at Marist College, and lectures throughout the US and Canada.  He is author of the new book, ‘Native American Stories of the Sacred, Annotated and Explained by Evan T. Pritchard (Skylight Paths)’

Jan Barstad: An Update on the Dig at the Newport Tower

With the gracious permission of the Newport City Council, Chronognostics has conducted an archaeological excavation of sites they found in the park during their geophysical studies of the past three years: possible building foundations and a rocky area near the Tower. The Tower itself, though completely visible and beautiful, is mute; we can only hope that its neighbors underground will be more talkative and tell us their tales from the past, and the tale of the Tower.  Jan will discuss her research and the findings from the digs so far.

Jan Barstad is a historian, writer, and botanist. Born in the historic town of York, Pennsylvania, she attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in History; later she earned a Masters of Science in Botany, specializing in plant ecology, from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.  Jan began her writing career as a staff writer for Paddock Publications (a suburban newspaper chain) in Arlington Heights, Illinois. In Arizona, she served as a public relations specialist for two Phoenix hospitals, and later as publications director for the Desert Botanical Garden.  As a botanist, she worked as a riparian research technician for the research unit of USDA Forest Service at Arizona State University in Tempe. She served as a field representative for USDI Bureau of the Census from 2000 to 2004. Currently she is an Adjunct Faculty member of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University.  As a writer and editor, Jan has written many articles for Arizona Highways Magazine, other magazines, and science journals. She is the author of several books, including The Verde River Sheep Bridge and the Sheep Industry of Arizona and Hohokam Pottery.   Most recently, she edited and wrote chapters for The International Handbook of Underwater Archaeology, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002. In 2004 she founded and is president of the nonprofit Chronognostic Research Foundation, Inc., whose aim is to pursue research into historical and archaeological questions. She lives in Tempe with her husband, Ron, and their seven cats.

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Newport Tower Seminar: 27 October 2007   In the wake of the current investigations of the Newport Tower, NEARA’s Suzie Schochet has planned a one day Tower seminar on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at the Newport Art Museum & Art Association.  Sue Carlson, Bill Penhallow and Jim Egan will be speaking under the baton of moderator Jan Barstad of the Chronognostic Foundation, organizer of the studies.  Watch for complete information here at www.neara.org and www.chronognostic.org. ● At the NEARA 2002 Fall Meeting "ABC +10", Sue Carlson, Bill Penhallow, and Jim Eagan presented: The Newport Tower: Sunlight and Moonshine.  . ● NEARA Monograph: The Newport Tower: . . NEARA’s editors feel the time is right to compile the efforts of our many contributors in a single volume. We hope that readers who have followed the twists and turns of Tower research will revisit the information contained herein, and that those who are new to the subject will find the subject matter intriguing and a catalyst for more reading and study. We have, in some cases, edited the authors' original articles in order to avoid redundancy.   (Includes ordering info)

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Keynote Lecture Saturday Evening:

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Dr. John B. Carlson: "Serpent of Light and Shadow" at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent: Chichen Itza as a Maya Pilgrimage Center (with Tribute to Jean-Jacques Rivard, a Pioneer in Maya Archaeoastronomy)   

Every year, around the time of the equinoxes (21 March and 21 September), thousands of people from every part of the globe come to the Maya archaeological site of Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatan, to witness a striking visual effect projected before sunset onto the north balustrade of the “Castillo” or “Pyramid of Kukulcan,” the Feathered Serpent. But, is there compelling evidence that the ancient Maya architects of the Castillo designed and oriented it intentionally to create this moving visual manifestation, now viewed by the masses as the descending “Serpent of Light and Shadow”? First proposed by Jean-Jacques Rivard in 1970 in his pioneering Maya archaeoastronomy study entitled “A Hierophany at Chichen Itza,” his ideas have well withstood the test of time based on subsequent research and new data. His interdisciplinary hypotheses of an astronomically-timed architectonic “manifestation of the sacred” were prescient, and his night-time photographs of “star trails,” analyzed in collaboration with astronomer Charles Smiley, were among the first to establish the orientation of a Maya temple with astronomical questions in mind. In its day, ancient Chichén Itzá was a great Mesoamerican pilgrimage center, and it has once again become a sacred as well as secular shrine of veneration for religious devotees, tourists and the local people on holiday. Whatever our ultimate judgment of the evidence, the equinoctial sunset “Descent of the Feathered Serpent” at Chichén Itzá is, without a doubt, a fascinating example of the role of astronomy in both an ancient civilization as well as now in contemporary world popular culture.

 

  

 

John B. Carlson, a radio and extragalactic astronomer by training, is the Director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy, a non-profit institute for research and education related to interdisciplinary studies of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, religions and world-views of ancient civilizations and the contemporary indigenous cultures of the world. In this capacity, Dr. Carlson is an expert on Native American astronomy specializing is studies of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and is the Editor of the ARCHAEOASTRONOMY Journal, published by the University of Texas Press. The art, iconography, calendar systems and hieroglyphic writing of the Maya and Highland Mexican civilizations are particular interests, and he has published and lectured extensively in these fields. A photographic essay on “America’s Ancient Skywatchers” was published in the March 1990 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.  A review of his research into ancient Mesoamerican practices of Venus-regulated sacred warfare and ritual sacrifice in the context of Teotihuacan, entitled “The Rise and Fall of the City of the Gods,” appeared as the cover article of the Nov./Dec. 1993 ARCHAEOLOGY Magazine. The “archaeology of pilgrimage” is a current special research interest. In this context, he was the organizer of the October 2000 Dumbarton Oaks Symposium on “Pilgrimage and the Ritual Landscape in Pre-Colombian America” and is currently completing a book on the “Equinox Serpent of Light and Shadow Phenomenon” which takes place at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent at Chichén Itzá, Yucatan. Carlson is Senior Lecturer in the University Honors Program, University of Maryland  –  College Park, where  he  teaches  courses  in  Astronomy, Anthropology and  the History of Science.

Lodgings: Holiday Inn New London

Holiday Inn New London / Mystic, 269 North Frontage Road, New London, CT 06320.  Phone: 860-442-0631, Fax: 860-442-0130, Email Address, Website.

The Holiday Inn New London is nestled in the heart of Mystic Country, conveniently right off I-95. Take a stroll back in time and enjoy the charms of the historic Mystic Seaport and Olde Mistick Village. Explore one of the most diverse aquariums in the nation at the Mystic Aquarium.  And then of course there’s the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center – a must see for NEARA members!

NEARA has secured a rate of $89.00 per night, plus applicable sales taxes.  When you call to make your reservations, mention that you are a NEARA member and verify that  you are  receiving the  special rate. 

● Directions to the Holiday Inn:

I-95N to exit 82A. Take Colman Street exit, right at the light.  At second light take a left onto Bayonet Street.  The back entrance to the hotel is on the left.  

 

I-95S: Take exit 83, hotel is ½ mile on the right.

Email: holidayinnnewlondon@waterfordhotelgroup.com
 

Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/gonms?_requestid=209380

Important Notice: The cut-off date for NEARA  special rates is October 19th so call to reserve your room  now!!  After the cut-off date,  all rooms being held for NEARA will be released back into general  inventory and any requests made after October 19th will be  subject to room  availability.

Please make your reservations by October 19th.

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Fall Meeting registrations form.  Please print the form, fill it out, and mail it in to the address on the form.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

Notice: NEARA Members receive a discount on the registration fee.  If you would like to become a NEARA member there is a Membership Application attached to the Registration Form. 

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NEARA 2008 Spring Meeting:

25-27 April 2008, Clarion Hotel, Northampton, Massachusetts

NEARA Special Event in Nova Scotia

August 8 - 13, 2007

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Hosted by NEARA's Nova Scotia Chapter

Six days of Field Trips and Adventures in Nova Scotia!

 Featuring: Oak Island, the Yarmouth "Runic" Stone, the Bayers Lake Walls, the Chain Lake Ruins, and the Bedford Petroglyphs

 

"We are eagerly looking forward to having you visit with us this summer, and to have you see for yourself the exciting and enigmatic relics of our mysterious past."  - Terry Deveau, Event Coordinator

Schedule

Registration

Lodgings

Links

Program & Schedule of Events

A note regarding passports—If travelling by air, passports are required now for US citizens visiting Canada. However, for land and sea travellers, passports will not be required until 2008.

Registration     Registration form here.

Event fees (if any) will be minimal, but we won’t know exactly until we have better numbers. You are on your own for all accommodations. You must pay for all your own meals yourself. There are some very minor charges for the OITS events, as noted in the program.

Please submit your registration form as soon as you know your firm plans. We need to get some idea as to numbers so we can make sure space is reserved for us. The month of August is a very busy time for the hospitality industry in Nova Scotia and space becomes unavailable if not booked well in advance.

Those who submit a registration form will be kept fully informed of further developments as the schedule of events is firmed-up. Space is limited to the first 40 registrations received, so don’t be disappointed; send us your registration today!

You may submit your completed registration form by Emailing it to:

Terry J. Deveau deveau@chebucto.ns.ca

Or via letter mail to:                          

Terry J. Deveau                            

3 Shore Road                        

Herring Cove, NS, B3V 1G6                                 

Canada

Lodgings

For the utmost in comfort and convenience, we recommend the following accommodations providers (contact them directly, without delay, for rates and availability). We regret that we cannot offer any special rates or group deals this time.

In Yarmouth:  (1 night, August 8)

Rodd Colony Harbour Inn

http://www.rodd-hotels.ca/ourhotels/ns/colonyinn/index.asp                               

1-800-565-7633

In Western Shore:  (4 nights, August 9-12)

Oak Island Resort & Spa Convention Centre

www.oakislandresortandspa.com

1-800-565-5075

There are also many other quality providers available, in all price ranges. You can have all your hospitality and accommodations choices explained by calling 1-800-565-0000, or on the web at www.novascotia.com. Be sure to order your free copy of the 2007 Doers’ and Dreamers’ Guide; over 400 pages of fully-detailed information on everything that the Nova Scotia hospitality industry has to offer (shipped hot-off-the-press mid-February, if you request it now).

Additional Links of Interest in the Area

Ferries:

  http://www.catferry.com/

Oak Island Tourism Society:

  http://www.oakislandsociety.ca/Calendar.htm

Yarmouth County Museum:

  http://yarmouthcountymuseum.ednet.ns.ca/

Fletcher Stone:    

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/yarmouth/stones.htm

  http://users.eastlink.ca/~oginword/main.htm

Cape Forchu:    

  http://www.yarmouth.org/villages/capeforc/history/geology/index.htm

  http://www.yarmouth.org/villages/capeforc/history/index.htm

Markland Hotel:   

  http://i16.ebayimg.com/05/i/08/6e/1c/dc_1_b.JPG

  http://i16.ebayimg.com/03/i/06/e4/23/bd_1_b.JPG

Bay View Stone:  

  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_1_24/ai_58545665/pg_6

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/yarmouth/yarmouth.jpg

Lent’s Island Stone:

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/yarmouth/lents/BedrockInscription72-11-18_72dpi.jpg

Tusket Falls “Viking” Cellars:

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/yarmouth/tusket/

Yarmouth Area:

  http://www.yarmouth.org/

  http://www.yarmouth-town.com/

  http://www.yarmouth.org/vacation/tours/fishermen/

  http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=&ex=00000269&sl=5450&pos=1

  http://www.destinationsouthwestnova.com/explore-the-area/regions-and-communities/yarmouth-acadia-shores.php

West Pubnico:  

  http://museum.gov.ns.ca/av/intro-e.html

  http://www.museeacadien.ca/english/museum/index.htm

Mahone Bay:

  http://www.mahonebay.com/

Chester:

  http://www.chesterns.com/

Southwest Nova Scotia:

  http://www.destinationsouthwestnova.com/

Bayer’s Lake “Mystery” Walls:

  http://www.neara.org/MiscReports/03-21-05.htm

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/halifax/mysterywalls/mysterywalls5.htm

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic:

  http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/index.html

Halifax:   

  http://www.halifaxinfo.com/

  http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax/index_e.asp

Bedford Petroglyphs:  

  http://www.multiculturaltrails.ca/level_3/halifax-bedford.html

  http://www.booth.k12.nf.ca/projects/Mi'kmaq/bedford.htm

  http://www.nsexplore.ca/halifax/bedford/

  http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nhns2/400/413.htm

Peggy’s Cove:  

  http://www.tourcanada.com/pegcove.htm

  http://www.peggys-cove.com/

  http://www.vacation-nova-scotia-tourism.com/nova-scotia-peggys-cove-lighthouse-post-office.shtml

Oak Island:    

  http://www.oakislandsociety.ca/

  http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/

Grand-Pré:

  http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/grandpre/index_e.asp

Port-Royal:

  http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/portroyal/index_e.asp

NEARA's Spring Meeting April 20-22, 2007

New Hampshire Technical Institute

Featuring the New Home of the NEARA Collection

NHTI Library - Home of the NEARA Collection

Notice: All of the lectures will take place at the New Hampshire Technical Institution, the new home of the NEARA Library.  NHTI offers a first class state-of-the-art auditorium and venue and is approximately .3 miles from the Courtyard. 

Highlights & Field Trips

Speakers & Abstracts

Spring Meeting Schedule

Sweeney Hall Auditorium

Marriott Rates & Directions

Meeting Registration

Conference Highlights & Field Trips

● Museum of NH History:  Tour: Friday at 2:00 pm

NEARA members will meet in the museum lobby, by the gift shop, on the main floor, shortly before 2:00PM.  Our tour will begins promptly at 2:00 PM and will be mostly self-guided.  

 

The NH Historical Society has been collecting, preserving, and interpreting New Hampshire’s past since 1823.  The current museum opened in May of 1995 and is a charming mix of artifact displays and hands on interpretive exhibits.  It features a permanent exhibit (NH Through Many Eyes) of NH’s history from its prehistoric earliest days up until today, as well as, changing exhibits like Consuming Views:  Art and Tourism in the White Mountains.  

 

NEARA members will be especially interested in "The Mystery Stone", one of the Museum’s most requested artifact.  An exquisitely carved black stone found on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, it is reminiscent of artifacts turned up in archaic sites far to our south.

 

Also of interest will be the Abenaki section with it’s wigwam, dugout, and excellent display of stone tools, all found and most likely crafted in New Hampshire.  Don’t miss a chance to climb the fire tower and check out the surrounding area from aloft.    Visit their web page for directions, parking information, and other background tidbits.

● NEARA Library at NHTI:  Open House: Friday at 4:00 pm

NEARA members come visit your library and learn all about the services available to you through NHTI.  Explore the NEARA Collection of nearly 3000 books; 15 journals and newsletters, that are regular subscriptions; countless online resources; topographical maps; site files; and, of course, the NEARA vertical (clippings and articles).  Refreshments will be served at 4:00 PM.  NHTI Library website.  NHTI Campus map here: http://www.nhti.edu/welcome/nhtimap.pdf

● NEARA Library at NHTI:  Special Program: Friday, 4:30 - 5:00 pm

NHTI Library Computer Lab: A hands-on demonstration of searching for information in the NEARA Library collection a chance to search the various data bases and collections via computer, as you are able to do from your home, to enhance your knowledge of what is available and how to use it. There is room for 20 independent researchers or more if you work together. Email your sign up to Anne Wirkkala: awirkkala@nhctc.edu 

● Christa McAuliffe Planetarium:  Star Shows beginning at 11:00 am daily

NEARA members may attend in any of the four different star shows at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, beginning at 11:00AM, featured daily, including Sundays. The Planetarium is located adjacent (even attached to NHTI) and is New Hampshire's only planetarium.  Join their enthusiastic staff for a journey to the stars and beyond.  The facility is named in honor of New Hampshire’s fallen teacher astronaut killed in the Challenger disaster and is the most technologically advanced planetarium in New England. Visit their website, at www.starhop.com, for show descriptions, times, and ticket information.  Just a short walk from the Library and a site not to be missed during your visit to Concord.  (Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, 2 Institute Drive, Concord, NH 03301.)  NHTI Campus map here: http://www.nhti.edu/welcome/nhtimap.pdf

● Field Trips:  Sunday April 22

Sunday's field trips have an underlying theme of "site care and protection," which is one of the main foci of NEARA.  We begin the trip with a brief stop at a site that has not been cared for. We will view the removal of even the topsoil from a former site in Hopkinton, NH.  Next stop to Claremont, NH, to visit a site owned and cared for by a noted garden center owner, Mr. Kathan, who is very proud of his elegant rocking stone.  Then returning to Henniker, NH, for "The Devil's Footprints" behind NEC, and then past two interesting stone features in Weare, NH.  A sign-up sheet and directions will be posted during the meeting.  It is about an hour and 15 minutes to Claremont and the only hiking will be a modest climb to view footprints. Photo: Don Gilmore is exploring its mechanics of the rocking stone during a NH chapter visit in 2001.

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Ted Timreck: Hidden Landscapes: A Northeastern Ceremonial Landscape

The first episode of the Hidden Landscapes series is a search for the ceremonial traditions that eastern Native Americans created in their natural environment.  Pre-contact, Native, ritual architecture has been discovered all over the North American continent yet the Northeast has never been recognized by archeologists as a region where early, indigenous people left ceremonial designs in their landscape.  The often unspoken implication among historians has been that Eastern Native Peoples were somehow less culturally developed then other ancient societies in the Western Hemisphere.  This prevailing model of a diminished Indian history has, in turn, created a void in out vision of the past that has been too easily filled with invented civilizations.  By ignoring or dismissing the landscape archeology that is admittedly difficult to explain, a controversial situation developed where the researchers who stumbled on to the "mysterious" ruins found throughout the Northeast could suggest fantastical origins like "Lost Races" or pre-Columbian migrations from Europe.  This program takes a new look at the historical arguments and modern discoveries that have shaped the popular vision of Native cultural history in Eastern North America. 

 

Since the mid 70's, Ted Timreck has specialized in portraits of artists and anthropological programming. Beginning in 1980, he has worked extensively with Smithsonian scientists documenting field research, producing video and electronic media for The National Museum of Natural History and programming for public and cable television. He is the producer of the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies and Paleo-Indian Web Sites. Television works include "Franz Boas" for the PBS Odyssey series along with "The Lost Red Paint People" and "Vikings in America" for PBS (Nova). His television portraits of artists (PBS national specials and series) include, Charles Ives, Thomas Eakins, Augustus Saint Gaudens and Frederick Law Olmsted.  Mr. Timreck is a research associate with the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Richard Boisvert: New Hampshire Archaeology

A review of the latest developments and discoveries in New Hampshire Archaeology will be presented.

 

Richard Boisvert: BA Anthropology from Beloit College, MA & PhD in Anthropology from the U of KY, research in Ohio Valley, Texas, France, Quebec and New Hampshire; employed with NH Division of Historical Resources since 1987, State Archaeologist since 2003; major research interests include lithic technology, Paleoindian and Public Archaeology.  He is the State Archaeologist for New Hampshire.

Evan Hadingham: The End of the Minoans

Since the 1930s, archaeologists have speculated that a Bronze Age cataclysmic eruption of the Thera volcano on Santorini destroyed Crete's Minoan culture, Europe's first great civilization. However, a surprising lack of evidence of volcanic devastation on Crete, coupled with archaeological clues indicating that the Minoans flourished for at least a generation or two after the eruption, led to the theory largely falling into disfavor. Now, however, some startling new discoveries in Crete are leading archaeologists to think again about the impact of the eruption. E.H. recently returned from Crete and will report on the new discoveries relating to the greatest single natural disaster of the ancient world.

 

Evan Hadingham is Science Editor for the PBS series NOVA from WGBH , Boston.

Zena Halpern & Don Ruh: The Catskill Mountain Stone Petrographic/SEM Report

An inscribed stone with six ancient characters was found November 2004 in Frost Valley, Catskill Mountains of New York.  To answer potential questions about the inscribed stone it was submitted for testing to the laboratory of American Petrographic Services (APS), St. Paul, Minnesota on June 20, 2006.  Geologist Scott Wolter, PG performed the laboratory analysis.  The stone was also sent to the Materials Analysis and Research Laboratory at Iowa State University for electron scanning microscopy (SEM) on Oct. 31, 2006.

 

We will report on the results of the observations into the physical features of the inscribed stone done by American Petrographic Services which subjected the stone to both non-destructive and destructive testing in the form of petrographic observations.  A small sample was cut off one end of the stone and a thin section was made from this sample and the remaining piece was polished for microscopic review.  The second part of the testing process was done at Materials Analysis and Research Laboratory (MARL), Iowa State University where the stone was subjected to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and we will also report on these results. The petrographic observations made by APS and MARL including the geologic classification and documentation of the physical aspects of the stone will be the focus of our report.

 

Zena Halpern is a long time NEARA member of almost 20 years.   She was taking graduate courses at NYU from Cyrus Gordon.  Cyrus Gordon came to NYU after a lengthy stay at Brandeiss University where he headed the department of Mediterranean Studies.  In 1971, his groundbreaking book was published; "Before Columbus: Links Between the Old World and Ancient America."   Gordon's theories of trans-oceanic contact and his dynamic teaching sent Zena on a quest that that has continued for 35 years. Upon retirement in 1998, she began intensive investigation for evidence of ancient seafaring, ancient ships and harbor construction along the east Mediterranean coast. She has traveled to Crete, Mexico, Israel, Greece and states in the US, where reports have come in of inscribed stones in ancient alphabets.  She is presently writing a book about connections between the eastern Mediterranean, Iberia, Mexico and American sites.

 

Don Ruh, is currently employed at Hologic Corporation, Lorad Division of Danbury, Conn, the leading manufacturer of mammography and breast biopsy equipment for the early detection of breast cancer. Don was born in Mt. Vernon, NY.  He grew up there and attended the Y.M.C.A. day camp where he took several wilderness trips.  These trips helped instill a love of nature and an appreciation of the outdoors. When he graduated from high school he promptly set out hiking the Appalachian Trail, north to south in its entirety. He spent two weeks the following year lost in the Canadian woods after a light plane crash.

 

He became interested in archaeology through as association with the late Dr. William Jackson who was a member of an amateur archaeology association on Long Island, NY.  He traveled extensively with Dr. Jackson throughout the Catskill and Adirondack mountains. Don then became a member of Teatown Lake, a privately funded nature preserve in Westchester County where he headed the volunteer trail maintenance crew.  Ms. Ruth Rubenatien, an archaeologist friend who was serving as the Director of Education at Teatown suggested that Don attend a lecture dealing with the possibility of ancient structures in Westchester and Putnam counties.  These structures were referred to as stone chambers and the lecture was given by a member of NEARA.  Don had played in similar chambers at his uncle’s farm near Peekskill and was surprised at the possibility that these chambers were of ancient origin.  He became a member of NEARA in 1999.

Richard Neilsen: New Evidence on the Scandinavian Language, Numbers, and Runes found on the Spirit Pond Rune Stones

The new runic and linguistic evidence found solely by the author on the Spirit Pond Rune Stones during an investigation for the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine will be presented.  This presentation includes the pentadic 44 on the Map Stone, the correspondence of the runes with macrons on the Inscription Stone to the dotted runes of Ukna Church in Sweden dating from 1300, the dating of the amulet to 1405, and the identification of its pentadic 5.

 

The correspondence of the language to circa 1400 confirms the corresponding date of 1401 discovered and reported by the author in the past by use of the Easter Table. The backup for the proposed translation is extensive There are 12 runic points, 9 linguistic points and 8 numerical points that have been uncovered that fully support the Spirit Pond Runestones as medieval artifacts.  The similarities and differences between the Kensington Rune Stone and the Spirit Pond Rune Stones are also discussed.

 

Richard Nielsen has his Doctorate of Technology from the University of Denmark granted in 1965. He worked as a consultant to the Oil and Gas Industry in Scandinavia from 1978- 1984. He is still a consultant and lives in Houston, Texas.  Nielsen also holds a MA in Mathematics and a MS in Engineering from the University of Michigan granted in 1961 and 1964 and a BS from the Coast Guard Academy in 1955. Service in the U. S Coast Guard has brought him to all the old Viking haunts in Europe and North America, including Arctic Canada and Greenland.

Dr. Richard Nielsen has studied American rune stones for 30 years. He speaks Danish, read Norwegian and Swedish and it at home with the Medieval Scandinavian language Nielsen is well known for his work since 1986 on the Kensington Rune Stone and the Heavener Rune Stones of Oklahoma. It is his discovery of the dotted R in 2002 on the Kensington Rune Stone that attracted Prof. Henrik Williams of Uppsala University to work with him on the Kensington Rune Stone. At present this rune is clear evidence that the Kensington Runestone is medieval as there is no evidence available at this time that can explain this rune form as known in the 19th century.

Cathy Taylor: Ancient Astronomical Sites of Ohio

Cathy will present details and research about the ancient astronomical sites of Ohio.  The ancient earth mounds are the largest in the world, with the Newark Octagon Mound itself being over 70 acres in size. It is accompanied by the Circle Mound less than a quarter of a mile away. No one knew the reason for the mounds until the lunar aspects were looked at, and it was found that the lunar cycles fit the mounds exactly. In this year of the maximum lunar standstill points it is important to note that we have structures in the Americas that carefully record these points. Also of note is the more famous Serpent Mound that is oriented to solar and lunar standstills. The talk will be illustrated by maps and photos.

 

Cathy Taylor has been working with the geometry and astronomy of ancient sites for some time. An interest in declinations led to a close look at the important lunar standstills we have been witnessing this year, and an eventual trip to see the Ohio mounds close up in person. Cathy has worked hard as a member of the Upton Historical Commission to preserve an ancient stone chamber in her hometown of Upton, MA. The chamber is astronomically aligned with the setting of the Pleiades and the summer solstice sun.

Chuck Flood: The NEARA Sites Registry Database: A Prototype

Over its 40 year life, NEARA has accumulated a mass of valuable information about the lithic sites and other features which are its focus. There has, however, been a growing sense of uneasiness over the fact that this valuable information resides in too many places.  Discussions among members led to the idea of developing a database for recording information about sites and the features and artifacts they contain.  This presentation will introduce a prototype database being implemented to store data about sites and features and the documents and images (photos, slides, negatives) which pertain to them.  The prototype database is currently being used to organize material for sites in Maine and has been found very useful for its purpose.  It is intended that the site registry will be extended to include all of the states and provinces in which NEARA has an interest.

 

In a 30-plus year career in information technology, Chuck Flood has been a computer programmer, database designer and project manager.  He has consulted with businesses both large and small to address how technology can enhance their business practices and has extensive experience in imaging and document management. A native New Englander but long since relocated to the West Coast, Chuck enjoys exploring the forgotten places in search of whatever interesting and mysterious things lurk there.

William Hubbell: Good Fences

In this presentation Bill will share with NEARA members the "why and how" he came to write Good Fences and his insights into their meaning. About this book, he writes: "When an editor at Down East Books suggested I do a book on New England stone walls, I leapt at the chance. However, he proposed only a short, 32-page effort with just pretty pictures. I countered with a proposal that covered the subject much more deeply. There are excellent books available on the history and economics, on how to build, and on the science behind stonewalls, but they are illustrated by line drawings or black and white photographs.  "I felt more was needed. I was challenged to capture them in all their glory - proud, stalwart and strong, or in their tumbled, abandoned misery. I had two main goals: 

 

(1) I wanted to give readers enough information about various kinds of walls, why and how they were made, so that their travels through the New England countryside would be more enjoyable and meaningful.

 

(2) I wanted to heighten people's awareness as to the surprisingly fragile aspects of stone walls and the need to treasure and preserve them as definitive and vital aspect of our landscape."

 

William Hubbell After college, where he majored in geology, and the USAF, Bill began his working life as a photo-journalist by driving round-trip from London to Calcutta, doing stories for publications which included the NY Times and National Geographic Magazine. In the mid-1960's, he spent three years covering the perimeter of the "Bamboo Curtain" from Korea through the Philippines and S.E. Asia to Viet Nam, Thailand and Laos for the US Information Agency. After seven years as director of Photography for the audio-visual division of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, publishers, Bill went out on his own. He was based in Greenwich, CT and worked as a free-lance photographer, specializing in corporate/annual report photography for companies such as IBM, General Foods, Dictaphone, UPS and Cunard Lines. In 1989 his first picture book, CONNECTICUT, which went through nine editions during its 17- year life, was published. This was followed by NEW ENGLAND COAST. After moving to Maine, he produced three more books, SEASONS OF MAINE, SAFE HARBOR, and his latest project, GOOD FENCES: A Pictorial History of New England's Stone Walls.

Schedule of Events

Friday April 20

Saturday April 21

Sunday April 22

New Hampshire Technical Institute: Sweeney Hall Auditorium

Notice: All of the lectures will take place at the New Hampshire Technical Institution, the new home of the NEARA Library.  NHTI offers a first class state-of-the-art auditorium and venue and is approximately .3 miles from the Courtyard. 

Sweeney Hall Auditorium in located next to the Goldie Crocker Wellness Center and directly behind the Student Center.  It can be reached from either side (the Library side via same the sidewalk as used to approach the Library from the right hand side) or from the other parking lot that is adjacent to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. The main entrance is  is on the first floor.  NHTI Website
 

● New Hampshire Technical Institute Campus Map:

A detailed map of the NHTI campus including the locations of Sweeney Hall and the Library may be found as a .pdf file at this at this link: http://www.nhti.edu/welcome/nhtimap.pdf

● Directions to New Hampshire Technical Institute:

From Points North or South:

Route 93, Exit 15 east to Route 393 to exit 1 and follow signs.

 

From Points West:

Route 89 to Route 93 North to exit 15 east to Route 393 to exit 1 and follow signs.

 

From Points East:

Route 4 to Route 393 to exit 1 and follow signs.

Lodgings: Courtyard by Marriott

Courtyard by Marriott, 70 Constitution Avenue, Concord New Hampshire, Hotel Phone: 603-225-0303, Fax: 603-225-0606, Website.

NEARA has secured a rate of $84.00 per night, plus applicable sales taxes.  When you call to make your reservations, mention that you are a NEARA member and verify that you are receiving the special rate.  The cut-off date for NEARA special rates is April 1^st.

Notice: All of the lectures will take place at the New Hampshire Technical Institution, the new home of the NEARA Library.  NHTI offers a first class state-of-the-art auditorium and venue and is approximately .3 miles from the Courtyard. 

Please see the Yahoo map to the left for principal locations.  The Courtyard is marked with a red ●, the Sweeney Hall Auditorium is marked with a blue ●, and the NHTI Library is marked with a green ●.  Please click the map for a full size version.

● Directions to the Courtyard:

From Route 93, take exit 15 West (N. Main St.) Take first right at flashing lights onto Commercial Street. Follow 1/4 mile to Constitution Ave.

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Spring Meeting registrations forms.  Please print the form, fill it out, and mail it in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

Notice: NEARA Members receive a discount on the registration fee.  If you would like to become a NEARA member there is a Membership Application attached to the Registration Form. 

NEARA's Fall Meeting November 8 - 12, 2006

Eastern States Archaeology Federation Conference

Jointly Sponsored by:

NEARA - New England Antiquities Research Association

&

MAS - Massachusetts Archaeological Society

Highlights ~ Field Trips

Autumn Conference Schedule

Best Western ~ Rates & Directions

Registration

Note for book sellers and literature table requests

This fall NEARA will be co-hosting with the Massachusetts Archaeological Society (MAS) the annual meeting of the Eastern States Archaeology Federation (ESAF).  This meeting will take the place of the NEARA fall meeting.  The dates for this very exciting event are November 8-12 and will be held at the Best Western in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  The majority of the programming will take place on Friday and Saturday so you don’t need to be there for the entire five days if you can't be.  The programming will be very diverse, appealing to everyone with an interest in the rich history of our eastern states. 

 

"The Eastern States Archaeological Federation (ESAF) is an organization of state archeological societies that are found in the eastern U.S. The ESAF was organized in 1933/34 to provide an exchange of archeological information among archeologists and state archeological societies. With a membership of 15 state societies and over 500 individual memberships, ESAF continues to be a national organization that fosters cooperation and information exchange among all people working in archeology as well as supporting public participation in all archaeological activities.”  Please visit them on their website at http://www.esaf-archeology.org/. 

Conference Highlights & Field Trips

Middleborough Little League Site:

This Late/Transitional Archaic site has been under excavation by Dr. Curtiss Hoffman (who will conduct the tour) and students from Bridgewater State College since 1996.  It was occupied by local groups practicing normal subsistence activities, but also by a more mobile group who used the site to assemble, prepare, and store artifacts for ceremonies (paintstones, quartz crystals, pendants, polished pebbles, arkose slabs) at other locations, notably at the well-known Wapanucket 6 and 8 sites just 3 km upriver.

 

To Middleborough:  Take Route I-495 to Exit 4 (Route 105).  At the end of the exit ramp, turn onto Route 105 north (left if coming from the north, right if coming from the south) and proceed ¼ mile to first traffic light (Route 28, West Grove St.).  Turn right onto Route 28 and proceed down the hill until you see a shopping plaza on your right (Hannaford Market).  Turn left at the “Fields of Dreams” sign and follow the dirt road a short distance, and park by the second ball field.  The Little League site is in the trees to your left.  To the Robbins Museum, return to Route 28 and turn right onto Route 105, and proceed through the next traffic light (Main St./Wareham St.).  Go one block further (Jackson St., police station on corner).  Turn right onto Jackson St. and park in the lot on the left; the Robbins Museum is across the street.

Robbins Museum of Archaeology: 

The successor to the Bronson Museum in Attleboro, the Robbins Museum is the premier institution for archaeological displays in Massachusetts, and features Native cultures of New England from Paleo-Indian times through the present.  Displays include “A Walk Through Time”, “Wapanucket:  The Glory of Ancient Middleborough”, “The Doyle Native Doll Collection”, and a display of artifacts from the Middleborough Little League Site.  Admission is free, but donations are welcome!

 

Robbins Museum: http://www.tauntonriver.org/museums.htm

 

See Middleborough Little League Site (above) for directions. 

Sturbridge Graphite Mine: 

This is one of the oldest historic mining sites in North America.  Originally used by Native Americans to obtain pure graphite, the mine was operated by the English briefly in the 1660s.  Its most prosperous era of operation was from 1829 until 1860, when it was owned by Frederick Tudor, “The Ice King”.  Most of the remains visible at the mine date to this period, including extensive evidence for the hand-drilled blasting holes used to break up overburden rock in the mining process.  This tour will be led by Ed Hood, Director of Research, Collections, and Library at Old Sturbridge Village.

 

Graphite Mine: http://www.osv.org/learning/DocumentViewer.php?Action=View&DocID=572

 

To Sturbridge, from Fitchburg:  Take Route 2 east to Exit 23 (Route I-190).  Take I-190 south to the  merge with I-290 (Exit 1).  Continue south on I-290 to Exit 7 (I-90, Mass. Turnpike).  Take I-90 west one exit to Exit 9 (Route I-84).  From I-84 west, take Exit 1 (the third exit from the Mass Pike). Turn right at the stop sign onto Mashapaug Road heading south and follow for 1.5 mi. Turn right onto Leadmine Road and follow for 0.9 mi (total distance = 50.3 miles).  An optional car-pool will leave for the site at 9:30 from Old Sturbridge Village (located on Route 20, off Exit 4 west on I-84).  Meet at the passenger drop-off area in front of the Museum Visitor Center.

Crowd Site: 

This is a 19^th century farm site occupied by a family of one of the miners, Robert Crowd.  The Crowds were an African-American/Native American family, and the study of their household is being used by Old Sturbridge Village to support a new exhibit under development at the museum.  This tour will also be led by Ed Hood, and both tours will proceed in rain or poor weather (but not if there is snow cover).  Please dress accordingly – this is a wooded site with rough terrain.

 

Crowd Site:

http://www.osv.org/learning/DocumentViewer.php?DocID=2187

http://www.osv.org/learning/DocumentViewer.php?DocID=770

 

To Sturbridge, from Fitchburg:  Take Route 2 east to Exit 23 (Route I-190).  Take I-190 south to the  merge with I-290 (Exit 1).  Continue south on I-290 to Exit 7 (I-90, Mass. Turnpike).  Take I-90 west one exit to Exit 9 (Route I-84).  From I-84 west, take Exit 1 (the third exit from the Mass Pike). Turn right at the stop sign onto Mashapaug Road heading south and follow for 1.5 mi. Turn right onto Leadmine Road and follow for 0.9 mi (total distance = 50.3 miles).  An optional car-pool will leave for the site at 9:30 from Old Sturbridge Village (located on Route 20, off Exit 4 west on I-84).  Meet at the passenger drop-off area in front of the Museum Visitor Center.

Old Sturbridge Village: 

In the years 1790 to 1840 a new nation took shape. In rural towns across New England, ordinary people worked to better their lives, build strong communities, apply new technologies, and define the meaning of democracy. Learn their story at Old Sturbridge Village as you journey into the past.  Attendees at the ESAF conference who pre-register are offered a reduced rate admission.  A one-hour tour will be led by Ed Hood, highlighting some of the museum’s exhibits based on archaeological research.  This tour will meet and leave from the entrance to the ticketing area at the museum.

 

Old Sturbridge Village: http://www.osv.org

 

To Sturbridge, from Fitchburg:  Take Route 2 east to Exit 23 (Route I-190).  Take I-190 south to the  merge with I-290 (Exit 1).  Continue south on I-290 to Exit 7 (I-90, Mass. Turnpike).  Take I-90 west one exit to Exit 9 (Route I-84).  From I-84 west, take Exit 1 (the third exit from the Mass Pike). Turn right at the stop sign onto Mashapaug Road heading south and follow for 1.5 mi. Turn right onto Leadmine Road and follow for 0.9 mi (total distance = 50.3 miles).  An optional car-pool will leave for the site at 9:30 from Old Sturbridge Village (located on Route 20, off Exit 4 west on I-84).  Meet at the passenger drop-off area in front of the Museum Visitor Center.

Hidden Landscapes: 

T.W.Timreck is producing a series of video programs exploring the development of early Eastern Native culture.  The "Hidden Landscape" series will build on the research of his original "Red Paint" film to look at recent discoveries and the rapidly changing climate of opinion that is adding new depth and sophistication to the archeological story of Native civilization in the Northeast.  The program segment being offered at the conference features the late Jim Petersen and investigates the controversial history of the Eastern stone ruins and offers new perspective on the emerging topic of Native ceremonial landscape in the region.

 

Worcester Art Museum: 

ESAF spouses are offered a free guided tour of this facility.  Experience magnificent artwork from five millennia of world cultures. View paintings by Cassatt, Gauguin, Goya, Monet, Sargent and Whistler; admire floor mosaics from the ancient city of Antioch; see cutting-edge contemporary art; and discover the Museum's many other treasures. Enjoy a delectable lunch in the Museum Café, browse the Museum Shop for unique gifts and mementos and check out our latest Art Classes Brochure for a current list of youth and adult class offerings.

 

Worchester Art Museum: http://www.worcesterart.org

 

To the Worcester Art Museum from Fitchburg:  Take Route 2 east to Exit 23 (Route I-190).  Take I-190 south to the merge with I-290 (Exit 1).  Continue south on I-290 to Exit 18; take a right at light at the bottom of the exit ramp (Lincoln St.); take the first right (before lights) onto Concord St., go straight (Concord becomes Salisbury St.), at third light, turn left onto Lancaster St. Museum is on the left at 55 Salisbury Street (total distance = 25.2 miles).

Researching the Bull Brook Paleo-Indian Site: 

Brian Robinson will bring us up to date on his research into the notes, maps, and photographs from this famous excavation.

 

Bull Brook: http://www.climatechange.umaine.edu/Research/Contrib/html/11.html

 

Brian Robinson: http://www.climatechange.umaine.edu/Directory/people/robinson.html

 

Rockhouse Rockshelter: 

Glaciers created the rock shelter that gives the Reservation its name. Its large size and height and its southern exposure made the Rock House an excellent winter camp for Native Americans. The site was also located near two long Native American footpaths, suggesting that it may also have been a trail camp and meeting place.  Following the arrival of colonists in the mid-seventeenth century, area forests were gradually cleared for farming. In 1866, pastures around the Rock House were added to a 281-acre farm on Ragged Hill Road owned by William Adams, whose family would tend the land for many generations. Today, a forest of pine and mixed hardwoods has reclaimed the landscape.

 

Rockhouse Rockshelter: http://www.westbrookfield.org/rockhouse.htm

 

To West Brookfield, from Fitchburg:  Take Route 2 east to Exit 23 (Route I-190).  Take I-190 south to the merge with I-290 (Exit 1).  Continue south on I-290 to Exit 7 (I-90, Mass. Turnpike).  Take I-90 west to exit 8 and pick up Route 32 north towards Ware. Route 32 joins Route 9 in Ware. Stay on combined Route 32/9 and, when routes separate, follow Route 9 east for 1.1 mi. to the parking area (12 cars) and entrance on the left (total distance = 68.5 miles).  Alternatively (if you like country roads), take Route 31 south from the hotel entrance (turn right) and continue through Princeton, Holden, Paxton, and Spencer to Route 9.  Turn right (west) onto Route 9 and continue through East Brookfield, Brookfield, and West Brookfield past Brookhaven Lake on your right.  The entrance will be about half a mile further on the right (total distance = 41.8 miles). 

Schedule of Events

Wednesday November 8   no meeting papers are scheduled

        Thursday November 9   no meeting papers are scheduled

        Friday November 10   Morning Sessions

        Friday November 10   Afternoon Sessions

        Saturday November 11   Morning Sessions

        Saturday November 11   Afternoon Sessions

        Sunday November 12   no meeting papers are scheduled

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel Information

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center, 150 Royal Plaza Drive, Fitchburg, MA 01420, Phone: 978-342-7100, Fax: 978-343-7376, Email: sales@rplaza.com, Website: www.rplaza.com

"In the heart of North Central Massachusetts, on the historic Johnny Appleseed Trail, you will find The Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center.  Conveniently located off Route 2 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, our lovely facility provides the ideal home base for exploring the region's unique beauty and charm year round.

As one of the largest facilities outside of Boston, we are also the perfect place to hold your next meeting, convention or social function.  Our dedicated staff of professionals, focused on customer service and hospitality, will assure your event's success.

Whether visiting us for business or pleasure, we welcome you and hope you will consider us your home away from home."

Reservations:

Room Reservations at the Royal Plaza Best Western:  $79/room/night (single, double, triple, or quadruple occupancy).  Contact the hotel at 888-976-9254 or www.rplaza.com

and mention ESAF for this rate.  This rate will be good up to the time of the conference.

Directions:

To Fitchburg/Royal Plaza Best Western:  Coming from the south or east, take Route I-495 north to Exit 29 (Route 2).  Take Route 2 west to Exit 28 (Route 31, Princeton Rd.).  Turn left at the end of the exit ramp and cross Route 2.  The hotel entrance is just beyond on your right (total distance from Middleborough = 84.5 miles).  Coming from the south and west, take the Mass. Pike (I-90) to Exit 10 (Route I-290).  Take I-290 north through Worcester to the merge with Route I-190 (Exit 19).  Continue on I-190 north to Exit 8 (Route 2).  Take Route 2 west and follow as above.  Coming from the north and west, take Route I-91 south to Massachusetts Exit 27 (Route 2).  Take Route 2 east to Exit 28 (Route 31, Princeton Rd.). Turn right at the end of the exit ramp and again right into the hotel entrance.

Note for Book Sellers & Literature Handout Tables

Book Room

Groups/persons wishing to sell books or other items should specify the number of tables needed.  Sales will begin at 8:30 AM on Friday, November 10^th.  The book room will be locked overnight on Friday night.  All book room materials must be taken down by 5:00 PM on November 11^th.  ESAF will retain 10% of book sales to help defray costs of the annual meeting.  Vendors are asked to clearly label their books with both a price and a code that identifies the vendor, and to provide a list of titles and prices for the people taking care of the sales table.      

Literature Tables

Poster sessions will be in a separate room from book sales.  Groups/persons wishing to put up posters or to provide free literature should specify the number of tables needed.     

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Autumn Meeting and Best Western Royal Plaza lodgings registrations forms.  Please print the forms, fill them out, and mail them in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

NEARA's Spring Meeting May 5- 7, 2006

With a focus on Northern New England and Canada

Mystery Lithic Sites, Knights Templar, Nova Dania, Aisthesis in Artifact Studies, Queen's Fort, and Calendar II Site reconstructions.

Speakers & Topics

Spring Conference Schedule

Special Field Trips

Ascutney Resort ~ Rates & Directions

Registration

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Zena Halpern, Harry Weymer, Don Ruh: The Neversink River Site: Solving an Ancient Mystery

An unusual site has been discovered deep in the Catskill Forest of New York state by NEARA member Don Ruh.  An avid hiker, he has walked many trails and frequently goes off trail to investigate stone walls, stone cairns, etc.  On one of these hikes several years ago he found a stone half buried in the dirt. It caught his eye as there seemed to be unusual kind of marking on it.  And thus, began a series of discoveries that have linked Don, myself and Harry Weymer in a very unusual adventure.

         

The site, within one quarter of a mile from the West Branch of the Neversink River in Frost Valley has yielded two inscribed stones, another stone with a enigmatic carving and objects found in a cairn that are most unusual.  We present these findings and the two years of research that have gone into the site and the enigmatic artifacts.  Our research  has taken us across the ocean for decipherment of two stones and to New York archaeologists for identification of the artifacts found within the cairn. The site remains hidden deep within the woods of the Catskill Mountains, basically intact.  The ongoing mystery and investigation of the site will be presented.

Zena Halpern is a long time NEARA member of almost 20 years.  She was taking graduate courses at NYU from Cyrus Gordon.  Cyrus Gordon came to NYU after a lengthy stay at Brandeiss University where he headed the department of Mediterranean Studies.  In 1971, his groundbreaking book was published; "Before Columbus: Links between the Old World and Ancient America."   Gordon's theories of trans-oceanic contact and his dynamic teaching sent Zena on a quest that that has continued for 35 years.  Upon retirement in 1998, she began intensive investigation for evidence of ancient seafaring, ancient ships and harbor construction along the east Mediterranean coast. She has traveled to Crete, Mexico, Israel, Greece and states in the US, where reports have come in of inscribed stones in ancient alphabets.  She is presently writing a book about connections between the eastern Mediterranean, Iberia, Mexico and American sites.

 

Harry Weymer also a long time NEARA member was a tenured faculty member from 1972 – 2005 at Ithaca, High School where he taught French, German, Russian, & Spanish Language & Civilization.  Education: 1972 - SUNY Cortland - BA French & German Intensive Latin program - Cornell University. Ford Foundation Fellowship in Russian at Bryn Mawr College, Studies abroad: University. of Trois-Rivières, Québec; University Xiamen, China; Memphis State University in Guanajuanto, Mexico; University of Valencia, Spain; Unversity Aix-en-Provence, France; University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Schiller College in Heidelberg, Germany.

 

Don Ruh, is currently employed at Hologic Corporation, Lorad Division of Danbury, Conn, the leading manufacturer of mammography and breast biopsy equipment for the early detection of breast cancer. Don was born in Mt. Vernon, NY.  He grew up there and attended the Y.M.C.A. day camp where he took several wilderness trips.  These trips helped instill a love of nature and an appreciation of the outdoors. When he graduated from high school he promptly set out hiking the Appalachian Trail, north to south in its entirety. He spent two weeks the following year lost in the Canadian woods after a light plane crash.  He became interested in archaeology through as association with the late Dr. William Jackson who was a member of an amateur archaeology association on Long Island, NY.  He traveled extensively with Dr. Jackson throughout the Catskill and Adirondack mountains. Don then became a member of Teatown Lake, a privately funded nature preserve in Westchester County where he headed the volunteer trail maintenance crew.   Ms. Ruth Rubenatien, an archaeologist friend who was serving as the Director of Education at Teatown suggested that Don attend a lecture dealing with the possibility of ancient structures in Westchester and Putnam counties.  These structures were referred to as stone chambers and the lecture was given by a member of NEARA.  Don had played in similar chambers at his uncle’s farm near Peekskill and was surprised at the possibility that these chambers were of ancient origin.  He became a member of NEARA in 1999.

Gérard Leduc: The Knights Templar in Nouvelle-France: Destination Montreal

Many years of research have revealed the possibility of an ancient presence of the Knights Templar in North America, but Montreal seems to have been an important Templars’ centre which was later taken over by the present day Sulpicians, a priestly order closely associated with the founding of Montreal in 1642. 

           

On the hillside of Mount Royal overlooking Montreal, there are two well preserved stone towers that were part of the Sulpicians’ Mountain Fort Mission.  The architecture is typically Medieval (as in the Newport Tower) and there are port holes believed to have been gun slits.  These were, however, too small for guns and were oriented to observe the sun on specific days as was the case in the Montsegur Medieval fortress in the Languedoc, France. The Mountain Fort was supposedly built in 1685 but the archives and the architecture suggest a much earlier date.

 

The most convincing argument for an ancient Templars’ presence in Montreal appears on historical maps of Montreal with the red Templars’ crosses on locations still occupied by the Sulpicians including the Séminaire Saint Sulpice.   This building, built in 1685, was equipped with several tunnels and with three underground stone chambers, going down about 10 meters (30 feet) below street level.  They were supposedly intended for meat, vegetable and wine storage.  I don’t believe so!

         

In the vicinity, the Notre-Dame de Bonsecours chapel is pointed at on a map with a Templars’ cross which is also engraved on the corner stone.

         

Finally, I recently discovered an old and extraordinarily accurate regional map that covers a wide area south of Montreal.  Its symbolic and allegoric place names, as well as its geomorphological configuration suggest a much more ancient origin.  It could be a map drawn by the Knights Templar.

 

Gérard Leduc was born and raised in the Montreal area where he first studied biochemistry at the Université de Montreal.  He later obtained a PhD in Fisheries from Oregon State University.  He worked for the Quebec Wildlife Service and later took a faculty position in the Department of Biology at Concordia University.  Before his early retirement in 1990, he developed a special interest for history and archaeology and took courses in archaeology at home and at the University of Maine at Orono.  Later he also studied at the Université du Québec at Montreal, did supervised digs in Montreal and registered in an archaeology field course at the Plymouth State College, NH.  Since living in Potton, close to the Vermont Border, Leduc founded the Potton Heritage Association in Mansonville QC.  He remained the founding President for 13 years.  During these years he carried out research on ancient cairns, astronomical alignments and on petroglyphs.  He also pursued research on the ancient presence of the Knights Templar in the Northeast, but particularly in the Montreal area. He has published in the NEARA Journal and gave numerous public lectures at home and outside Potton.

Brennan Gauthier: New England Antiquity Studies: A Student's Perspective

I will be giving a presentation about my work as an aspiring archaeologist at the University of Vermont.  My presentation will include work done in the field, as well as a researcher. I will discuss the  research I did  with the late Joseph Sinnott, on a stone chamber site in Southbridge, Massachusetts. I will also present the work I did with Connecticut State archaeologist Nick Bellantoni and my most recent work with the late Dr. Jim Petersen of the University of Vermont.

 

Brennan Gauthier is a sophomore at the University of Vermont.  He has had a passion for archaeology since the age of 8 and has pursued the field ever since.  Brennan graduated from The Pomfret School in 2004 with a distinguished scholar award in science. He is currently doing archaeological fieldwork as part of his study and part time employment.  Brennan has participated in archaeological field schools hosted by the office of the CT. Archaeologist which has given him a firm grasp for the fundamentals of field excavations.  In 2005, he obtained a research grant in conjunction with the University of Vermont for the study of a group of strange artifacts found in his hometown of Southbridge, MA.

Suzanne Carlson: Nova Diania: Lost Colony or Royal Fantasy?

With considerable envy, the seventeenth century King of Denmark, Christian IV watched the scramble to discover the elusive passage over Polar Regions to lay claim to the riches of Cathay. This presentation will follow the fate of Christian’s early 17^th century New World foothold, Nova Dania through the cartographic record, speculating on "what the Danes might have known and when" about the then frozen northwest passage and the amazing tale of Jens Munk, "merchant adventurer" in Christian’s service.

 

Suzanne Carlson, NEARA Publications Chairperson and practicing architect, is also known to NEARA members as an avocational student of Norse history and language.

Duncan Laurie: A Non-Linear Approach to the Study of Stone Artifacts and Sites

"Aisthesis" is a Greek word to describe the process by which one is able to acquire full knowledge, in the holistic sense.  Writers on shamanic process such as Stephen Buhner believe this process is due to the existence of little used a heart-based sensory system.  The hearts "independent" nervous system functions outside the brain and intellect, employing instinct, deep feeling and spontaneous visual imagery to explore the meaning of the world.  Shamans use this system to obtain knowledge of the medicinal nature of plants and to acquire a broader knowledge of nature's hidden intelligence.  Ancient stone sites, with multiple levels of mystery and meaning, provide an excellent opportunity for the application of heart-based and other non-linear investigative approaches to the open-minded researcher. 

 

Tidal forces bang stones together in a naturally formed rock Jacuzzi beneath a large boulder sitting upon along the Rhode Island shoreline. The stones produce provocative and mesmerizing sounds in an atmosphere of great natural beauty. Was the boulder placed there in antiquity to mark this site? So began an inquiry into the sonic attributes of rock that became an art form itself. Recordings of these melodic rock sounds were later played to specially constructed bio-sensors in our studio. The biosensors reacted to the stones by creating their own sonic output. These sounds were processed and mixed together with the rock sounds, giving the impression of nature spirits frolicking in the surf! The question then became whether the small voltages that can be detected from plants and certain rocks could themselves become a unique window into the natural world. The lecture will selectively highlight aspects of this research.

 

Artist Duncan Laurie (BA, MFA U. of Pennsylvania) and instrument designer Gordon Salisbury have been perusing this inquiry and others for about ten years. Laurie's career in fine art, design and architectural glass span 37 years. His work has been featured in numerous publications and his commissioned glasswork can be found in selected locations throughout the country and the world. Sonic audio collections include Induction Furnace (Fake Science.com, 2005), Sounds of Unseen Worlds (with Steve Nalepa, M Audio & Apple Garage Band Loop Libraries, 2004) and Shortwave Sounds (Musika Radionika, 2001).

Ernie Clifford:  Four Adjacent but Uniquely Different Lithic Sites in Rochester, Vermont

I will present four lithic sites that I have researched in recent years, one site has its east and west boundaries defined by two parallel streams, each with an unusual stone wall covering much of its length.  A second site has similar streams as boundaries but with no walls over them.  A third site features, in addition to several cairns, a couple of short stone walls, a yoni/phallus pair, a propped boulder with an adjacent "shrine", and an impressive twelve foot standing stone, now recumbent.  The fourth site, roughly four acres in extent, consists of many cairns, large and small.  Most of the larger ones are platform cairns and some appear to be effigies.

 

Ernie Clifford has worked, in the capacity of environmental test engineer, for 30+ years at Simmonds Precision Machining in Vergennes, VT.   A long time NEARA member, he has spent countless hours and days exploring the backwoods of Vermont.  He has discovered many interesting lithic sites of unknown origin.

Fredrick Meli: A New Interpretation of the Queen's Fort State Reserve; Exeter, RI

It is the opinion of this investigator that this site was most likely a ceremonial center rather than a defensive position. The historical accounts and available documentation does not provide sufficient evidence that the “Queen’s Fort” was a part of the stony forts that are associated with Ninegrets, and or the Narragansett’s; the stone piles and circles are placed deep within a glacial boulder field, and the seeming small size and shape of stone piles and “fort” contradicts the excepted theories of this being a defensive place. The apparent lack of strong physical evidence and the actuality that the Queen’s Fort site is really not a tenable defensive position leads the investigator to this conclusion. Also there are several names associated with this site, and the local library (North Kingston) has varying reports as to the location of the site, and the proper name for the site, subsequently this is cause for concern.

         

The spiritual aspects of this site have all but been looked over in preference of an interpretation of a military defensive position. There was no visible evidence of any military actions, no signs of destruction of larger boulders showing signs of musket fire or any of the smaller walls closer to the “fort” having any signs of a military disruption. The area was and is a peaceful local, and is so secluded and deep into the woods that it would be impossible to supply a defensive like this one. Lines of supply, especially water are at least 1600 feet from the center of the site, (Ruben Brown Brook) and there was no evidence that there were any chambers that would have served as storage bins for grain, and the overall terrain would make a defensive action for defenders all but impossible.

          

The “Queen’s Chamber” in my estimation could have served as a ceremonial place where one could conduct a Vision Quest, as part of a particular ritual celebration at this time of the year. (Solstice) The long stonewall that is to the west of the “fort” circle main stone aligns with the chamber and is also aligned with a large stone pile and wall to the southeast of the circle or fort. The stone at that end of that wall and stone pile itself is also aligned with another large boulder some 45 ft. to the northwest beyond the “fort”, there is a small pile of stones that are a circle and at the end of the pile circle is a large stone animal head, (a snake or turtle) the two alignments are set so that all activities both corporal as well as terrestrial are aligned along the axis of the center stone and the solstice alignment.

         

In my paper and talk I will detail the exploration and investigation of the fort, along with a detailed map and survey of all the stone piles and marker stones. I will also provide a documentation preferably film for viewing.

 

Dr. Fredrick Meli, anthropologist, archaeologist, is a part-time professor and research consultant.  He has been involved in extensive field work; in Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Central America.  His earliest work was centered on the Mound Builders and the Tombigbee peoples.  His current work involves the study of Pre-Columbian indigenous cultures and their construction of monumental public ceremonial works. He has recently begun a long-term investigation of the Megalithic site known as the Queen’s Fort, in Rhode Island. His premise concerns a possible new interpretation of this site; he is working with anthropology students from the University of Rhode Island, with support form the Rhode Island Historical Society, and NEARA.

Daniel J. Leary: A Historical Video of the Calendar II Reconstruction & Restoration

A short video presented by Dan Leary about the restoration of the Calendar II Site.

 

Daniel J. Leary joined NEARA in 1974. He started working at Mystery Hill and continued there until 1980.  After that time he conducted several archaeological projects in both NH and VT.  The projects in NH were under the guidance of the State Dept .of Historical Resources and then State Archaeologist, Dr. Gary Hume.  Dan is a mechanical engineer and the director of Sales and Marketing for Materials Research Furnaces, Inc., developing high temperature and high vacuum furnaces for private research and government funded projects.  In addition he is a financial consultant for Numismatic research and investments.

Schedule of Events

Friday May 5

Saturday May 6

Sunday May 7

Special Field Trips

RSVP is required in your meeting registration for the 3 main fieldtrips.  Please check the appropriate field trips you are interested in attending.

 

● Friday May 5:  2:00 p.m., Ernie Clifford, Field Trip Guide

 

Blanchard Stone: Ernie Clifford will lead this field trip to nearby Cavendish, VT, to see the “Blanchard” Stone.  This large rock is covered with petroglyphs of unknown origin.  Level of difficulty:  Easy.  Meet at the parking lot of Ascutney Resort at 2 PM.  Approximate length of trip:  plan on at least 2 hours including travel time.  Dress appropriately for wet and/or muddy conditions.

 

● Sunday May 7, Trip 1:  9:00 a.m., Donna Martin, Field Trip Guide

 

Calendar II Site/Phallus Hill:  Donna Martin will lead this field trip to the Calendar II site in South Woodstock;  this will include visits to the chamber, platform, upright stones, and several other points of interests.  Level of difficulty:  Easy.  Approximate length of trip:  plan on at least 3 hours including travel time.

         

The Phallus Hill:  Is optional for those who wish to continue.  This will involve hill climbing up the close-by Phallus Hill to see the animated stones and features up there.  This site is just down the road from Calendar II Site.  Level of difficulty:  Moderate to Difficult.  Approximate length of trip:  plan on at least 2 hours including travel time.

 

● Sunday May 7, Trip 2:  9:00 a.m., Lisa Gannon, Field Trip Guide

 

Blood Hill:  Lisa Gannon will lead this field trip to Blood Hill, in nearby Windsor, which sits southeast of Calendar II, and was apparently visible from the chamber at one time.  Numerous features are located here, including a partially collapsed chamber of unique construction, remains of a quartz quarry, and a possible turtle effigy cairn with donation pile on quartz bedrock.  Stone rows, standing stones, and also some obviously historic stonework may be seen in these woods, time permitting.  Level of Difficulty:  Moderate to Difficult with some short steep sections and lots of walking.   

 

Further details available at the meeting.  Sunday's field trips will depart from resort at 9:00am.  Again, dress appropriately for wet and/or muddy conditions.

Ascutney Mountain Resort & Conference Center Information

Ascutney Mountain Resort & Conference Center, P.O. Box 699, Route 44, Brownsville, VT 05037, Reservations: 800-243-0011, Hotel Phone: 802-484-7711, Fax: 802-484-3117, www.ascutney.com.

NEARA’s Spring 2006 Meeting should be especially memorable at the spectacular and full-service Ascutney Mountain Resort & Conference Center.  This expansive and picture perfect four season facility is located in Brownsville, VT at the foot of Ascutney Mountain and ski area.  Its charming building complex includes a variety of lodging and dining arrangements, all with beautiful views and warm, cozy interior spaces.  AMR is easily accessed from VT I-91, several miles west on Rt. 44 to Brownsville.  NEARA’s meeting will be in the Windham Building, AMR’s main conference facility.

Make your room reservations directly with the AMR reservations desk at 802-484-771 or toll free 800-243-0011 to select the lodging arrangement-location you desire, including elevator access or other special needs accommodations.  If you want to share a suite with friends, 2- and 3-bedroom suites are very affordable, and provide a delightful space to gather as well.  All bedrooms in suites have private baths.  Ask about specific bed sizes and numbers and ask for the “NEARA block” room rate.  The cut-off date for NEARA special rates is April 28^th.     

● Regular hotel rooms (king or twin beds) $79.00     

● 2-Bedroom suite with king and 2 twins (plus living room/ kitchen ) $149.00

● 3-Bedroom suite with king, 2 twins, and 2 queens (plus living room/kitchen) $189.00

Brown’s Tavern is the hub for gatherings—a warm and sociable meeting place, with a beautiful view of the mountains.  AMR also has an indoor pool, sports & fitness center, billiard room and plenty of hiking and biking.  Check out AMR’s website at www.ascutney.com for additional information.

Ascutney Mountain Resort is located within a short distance of numerous significant lithic complexes which will be choices for Sunday’s field trips.

Note: The Ascutney Mountain Resort (AMR) is the only facility in this general area.  We are offering meals for the entire weekend.  (See registration form.)  There are a variety of lodging options at AMR, all of which are reasonably priced.

Directions:

From the South: (Brattleboro, MA/CT/NYC)

I-91 north to ‘Ascutney’ exit #8, bear right at end of ramp.                                

Take Rt. 131 a short distance, go left onto US Rt 5 north.

Left onto Bear Mtn. Rd. – Rt. 44A

Left onto Rt. 44 west, 2 miles to AMR on left.

Left onto AMR road, take right fork to Windham Bldg.

Park and register at Windham Bldg on left.

  

From the north:  (White River Jut/Northern VT/Eastern NH)

I-91 south to ‘Windsor’ exit #9, left onto US Rt. 5 south.

Go about 5 miles into Windsor village

Turn right at 2^nd light onto Rt. 44 west, 5.4 miles to AMR on left.

  

From the east:  (through Claremont, NH)

Take exit Exit #12 off I-89, Rt 11 east.

Take Rt. 11 east thru Sunapee, Newport, Claremont

Take NH Rt. 12/103 west toward Ascutney, VT

Go over bridge at CT River – VT Rt. 131 west,

Right onto US Rt. 5 north.  Follow as above.

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Spring Meeting and Ascutney Mountain Resort & Conference Center lodgings registrations forms.  Please print the forms, fill them out, and mail them in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

NEARA's Fall Meeting November 4 - 6, 2005

With a focus on Rhode Island and Vicinity

Lost Cities, Pre-contact Forts & Ritual Sites, Colonial "Stone Enders", and Algonquin & Narragansett land use views.

Speakers & Topics

Members Presentations

Fall Conference Schedule

Special Field Trips: Stone Enders and Forts

Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel ~ Rates & Directions

Additional Accommodations

Registration

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

James Ignasher: Smithfield's Lost City: The Story of Hanton City and it's People

Located deep in the woods in the northern portion of Smithfield, Rhode Island, lays the remains of a Colonial Era ghost town known locally as Hanton City.  For generations, local residents have wondered and speculated about it.  The questions, “who lived there, and when?” would lead to the more important questions of “ what happened to them and where did they go?” 

Virtually no historical documentation existed about the area.  The stone lined cellar holes and farm sites were proof that a large settlement once existed, but no indication of it could be found on old maps of the town dating to the early 1800’s.  Nor was there any mention of it in a book about the history of Smithfield published in 1881.  Why would this be? It seemed nobody knew the answers, which led to the area being steeped in mystery and folklore.  In fact, as far back as 1889, there are some who have referred to it as “Haunted City”.  For the last two years, I have investigated the area trying to unravel the mystery and separate fact from folklore this presentation will present the results of my efforts.

 

Jim Ignasher was born and raised in New York and has been resident of Rhode Island since 1978. He currently resides in the town of Smithfield with his wife Ann-Marie. He has always had an interest in history and enjoys the challenge of doing historical research. As a member of the Smithfield Historical Society, he has researched and written about local history. In the course of his research, he has trekked through wooded areas in search of lost Colonial Era farm sites. It was during these explorations that he began to discover things such as dolmen, standing stones, cairns, and other oddities that were not Colonial in origin but were obviously man-made. His research into these Neolithic structures led him to learn about NEARA, of which he has been a member for a little over a year.

Paul Robinson: Rhode Island and the Narragansett Country: Still "Stony and Full of Indians" 375 Years After Captain Pierce's Report to Winthrop

Only a few years after King Philip’s War ended in Rhode Island, land reserved for Philip prior to the war, became Bristol - a planned seaport community conceived by four Boston investors.  The town came complete with a street grid, two-acre house lots and a building code:  a land transformation made this quickly revealed the opportunity for profit that some sees in war.

The taking of Indian land prior to the war was less organized, but effective and relentless nonetheless, played out with ink and paper in what Francis Jennings called the “deed game.”  Seventeenth-century Rhode Island Land Evidence Records provide an episodic narrative of the taking: the first group of colonists acquired specific “use rights;” the next generation claimed full ownership by asserting the relatively autonomous Kentish form of English land tenure. Out of the heated arguments between Indians and colonists that followed this colonial assertion came the war that to English thinking ended the argument by conquest.  The quarrel, however, did not end - it continues still, as Indian complaints and acts of defiance and resistance began with quickness equal to that of the platting of Bristol by Boston investors.

Today, NEARA’s members, through conferences, publications and conversations with Indian people, are among those who attempt to understand the New England landscape, its origins and meanings, in a way that most of the first colonists either ignored or failed to see as they waged war against its residents and took their land.  NEARA’s dedication to working with Indian people to preserve ancient landscapes holds out the hope that we may end the quarrel, and perhaps, discover a new world.

Paul Robinson is the Principal State Archaeologist at the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission and an adjunct faculty member in the Anthropology Department at Rhode Island College.

Evan Pritchard: Algonquins and Estuaries

This presentation will explain how our current large political centers and cities are situated upon ancient Algonquin political centers that are chosen based on the use of estuaries. These sites are either at confluences, at the salt point of estuaries or at the terminus--the place past which sea creatures have difficulty passing, such as at a waterfall. Secondary estuaries are equally important, as they are more sheltered and easier to defend from attack from the sea. Special attention will be given to the word Pawtucket, a word which is filled with meaning in Algonquin culture.

Evan Pritchard is director of the Center for Algonquin Culture. Evan is of Micmac, Wampanoag and Celtic descent.  Through his lectures and books, such as, ‘No Word for Time’ and ‘Native New Yorker,’ he has worked to highlight the importance of Algonquin culture in North American history.  Evan is a professor of Native American History at Marist College, and lectures throughout the US and Canada. He is author of the new book, ‘Native American Stories of the Sacred, Annotated and Explained by Evan T. Pritchard (Skylight Paths)’

Curtiss Hoffman: A Quantitative Methodology for Studying Rock Pile Sites

Archaeological study for the past 45 years has required the formulation of explicit research designs and sampling strategies, and the employment of quantitative methodologies to test hypotheses.  The apparatus of scientific archaeology, however, has only rarely been applied to lithic structures in the region, and, prior to 2004, never to rock pile sites.  This paper presents the results of applying such a methodology to the Ridges at Deer Lake project in Killingworth, CT.  Essentially, it provides strong evidence to disconfirm the field clearance, wall construction, and farm beautification hypotheses, and favors the acceptance of the hypothesis that these are indeed Native American ceremonial sites.  This methodology can be applied to other sites throughout the region with expected productive results.

Curtiss Hoffman is Chair of the Anthropology Department at Bridgewater State College, and Past President and current Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.  He holds a doctoral degree in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from Yale University (1974), and has been active in research in pre-colonial archaeology in Massachusetts since 1973.   He is the author of numerous articles and books on the archaeology of Massachusetts, and on mythology and the anthropology of consciousness.

Scott Horecky: Fort Kitchawanc Archaeological Preserve

Intact Lower Hudson Valley Contact Period sites with associated earthworks are rarely discovered due to a variety of destructive forces and environmental fluctuations. The Croton Point Peninsula located in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, in the Township of Cortlandt, County of Westchester, approximately 35 miles north of New York City, contains a Contact Period site called “Fort Kitchawanc” with remains of earthwork features and possible burial remains. The peninsula, a glacial moraine of the Wisconsin glacier, covers 508 acres and extends westward nearly two miles out into the Hudson Estuary. Presently, the peninsula is owned and operated by the Westchester County Government as a recreational and passive park facility. The Haverstraw Bay borders the peninsula on the north and the Croton River drains into the Croton Bay on the south. The unique geographic features and estuarine habitat of the Croton Point area has proved an attractive location for occupation by prehistoric cultures beginning at least from the early Archaic Period through European contact. Systematic archaeological excavations and various forms of field work have been conducted at the “Fort Kitchawanc” site over the last century beginning in 1899 with the work of M. Raymond Harrington for the American Museum of Natural History. I have re-examined Harrington’s work at the site and summarized the data in this presentation. This data has resulted in a renewed interest in the protection and preservation of the site. The Materials, Archives and Laboratory for Archaeology (MALFA), the lower Hudson Valley chapter of NYSSA, has been working for several years with Parks Department officials in establishing the “Fort Kitchawanc” site as the first archaeological preserve in Westchester County, and we are proud to report the dedication will take place in the spring of 2005.

Scott Horecky received his M.S. in Education from Long Island University and also has a B.S. in Music from Mercy College.  He serves as an instructor of Prehistoric Cultures of the Lower Hudson Valley at Westchester Community College.  He is event coordinator for Archaeology Day each year for Westchester County.  Scott also serves as Co-Director of the Croton Bay Site underwater archaeology project.  He is a contributor of prehistoric site identification for N.Y.S. Park Recreation and Historic Preservation.  He is the Native American Site Steward for the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.  Scott has published and lectured extensively on the archaeology of Westchester County.  He is a member of many professional archaeological and conservation organizations.

James Egan: The Mystery of the Stone Ender

In 1997,the remains of a colonial house were found high atop a cliff in southeastern Connecticut. The 6-foot-wide hearth, massive chimney base, foundation, and entrance step are all still visible. Architecturally, the building is a “stone-ender” (as opposed to “center–chimney”) which is a style predominantly found in RI.  Jim Whittall purported that this was the Trading Post of one of RI’s first settlers, Benedict Arnold. Benedict helped settle Providence with his father, William Arnold, in1636, and became the richest man in RI with his trading deals. In 1663, King Charles appointed him to be the first Governor of RI. (It was his great-grandson who was the infamous traitor in the Revolutionary War.)  But what would a RI settler’s house be doing in Connecticut? Clues can be found by studying the history of the RI-Connecticut border and Indian-Colonial relations.

Jim Egan is a professional photographer in Providence RI. He’s been a member of NEARA since 1977.  In 1985, he purchased the rafters, beams, floorboards and chimney stones of the dismantled 1709 Burlingame House, a one and a half story stone ender. He reconstructed it as an art studio for his wife in Foster RI. Jim serves as NEARA state coordinator for Rhode Island.

Associated Field Trips:

 

● Friday November 4 at 12 noon:

       Special Field Trip: Stone Enders of RI with Jim Egan

● Sunday November 6 at 10:00 am:

       Special Field Trip: Mystery of the Stone Ender with Jim Egan

RSVP is required in your meeting registration for the 3 main fieldtrips.  Please check the appropriate field trips you are interested in attending.

Dr. Uzi Avner: Anceint Cults in the Negev and the Sinai

As early as the 6^th millennium B.C. the desert became extremely rich with cult sites.  During the last 30 years I have been recording hundreds of cult sites of various types in the Negev and Eastern Sinai, and have excavated dozens.  These include standing stone shrines (masseboth), open-air sanctuaries, “crenelations” (rows of stone cairns), and several other types.  Remains of intensive cultic activity are observed in each burial site in the desert.  These sites, which are constantly being discovered with every field excursion, indicate unexpected, intensive religious activity and creativity of the desert populations, and a highly rich spiritual domain.  We even find that the desert people had a distinctive influence on the religions of the ancient Near east.  My lecture will present the results of these cult sites’ studies and discuss their interpretations and implications.

From the deserts of the Negev and the Sinai to Woodstock, Vermont, Dr. Avner is no stranger to megalithic sites in our area!  He met Betty Sincerbeaux in Vermont in 1993 and was shown the Calendar II chamber and standing stones in South Woodstock.  This site greatly impressed him and he saw some similarities to the hundreds of standing stone sites in had discovered, surveyed and documented of a period of 30 years.

Dr. Uzi Avner (1944, Israel) began his academic studies in archaeology, history and geography at Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 1973.  Achieving his BA degree in 1977, he began working for the Israel Antiquities Authority as the district archaeologist of the southern Negev.  Since then he has conducted many surveys and excavations in the southern Negev desert, as well as the eastern Sinai.  He has extensively published a variety of his research results, such as ancient cult and burial sites of various periods; early and advanced agriculture in the desert (from Neolithic to Early Islamic); copper and gold production of different periods; ancient desert roads during the ages, and others.  In 2003 his Ph.D. dissertation was awarded summa cum laude by Hebrew University.  Dr. Avner is lecturing on archaeology in the Eilat campus of Ben-Gurion University and in the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, while proceeding with field research and publications.

 

Friday Night Members Presentations

Terry Deveau: William B. Goodwin's Nova Scotia Axe

In 1938, William B. Goodwin of Hartford, Connecticut, wrote that he had in his possession an ancient decorated steel axe head that was a “patent and indubitable reminder” of Norse exploration of Nova Scotia in the period before 1250 A.D. The results of a detailed study of what is known about this relic will be presented.

Tom Paul: The Large Standing Stones and Perched Boulders of the Hammonasset Line

Every few miles on the Hammonasset Line, are stone complexes, including formed and stacked stone cairns and stone walls.  Between and at the edges of these complexes, are standing stones and perched or formed boulders. 

 

See Tom Paul's NEARA report on the Hammonassett Line!

Jim Egan: Jim's Excellent Adventure

A fast moving photographic essay on historic sites that I visited this summer in Prague, Athens, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Patmos, Rhodes and Barcelona.

Ted Ballard, Fred Martin, & James Mavor: Probable Pre-Contact Native American Ritual Site in Eastern Massachusetts

Rock shelters, modified glacial boulders that have been modified to capture solstice period sun-daggers will be discussed. Laid up stone U-shaped structures oriented to the solstices and northern constellations are also present at the site along with Late Archaic and Early Woodland Artifacts.

Schedule of Events

Friday November 4

12:00 noon  Special Field Trip: Stone Enders of RI with Jim Egan

  5:00 -7:00 pm Registration and Book Sales

  7:00  Jim Ignasher: Smithfield's Lost City

Members Short Presentations:

  7:45  Terry Deveau: William B. Goodwin's Nova Scotia Axe

  8:15  Jim Egan: Jim's Excellent Adventure

  8:45  Break, Book Sales, Exhibits

  9:00  Tom Paul: Large Standing Stones, Boulders, Hammonasset Line

 

  9:30  Ballard, Martin, Mavor: Probable Pre-Contact Ritual Site in Mass

 

Saturday November 5

  8:30 -9:30 am Registration and Book Sales

  9:30  Business Meeting & State Coordinator Reports

11:15  Paul Robinson: Rhode Island and the Narragansett Country

12:00  Lunch on your own, Book Sales, Exhibits

  1:45  Evan Pritchard: Algonquins and Estuaries

  2:30  Curtiss Hoffman: Quantitative Methodology for Rock Pile Sites

  3:15  Break, Book Sales, Exhibits

  3:30  Scott Horecky: Fort Kitchawanc Archaeological Preserve

  4:15  Jim Egan: The Mystery of the Stone Ender

  5:00  Meeting Wrap-Up and Announcements

  5:30  Cocktail Hour

  6:30  Banquet

  8:00  Uzi Avner: Ancient Cult Sites in the Negev and the Sinai

 

Sunday November 6

 

  9:30  Special Field Trip: Revolutionary War Forts with Rick Lynch

 

10:00  Special Field Trip: Mystery of the Stone Ender with Jim Egan

Special Field Trips

RSVP is required in your meeting registration for the 3 main fieldtrips.  Please check the appropriate field trips you are interested in attending.

 

● Friday November 4: 12 noon, Jim Egan, Field Trip Guide

 

The Stone Enders of Rhode Island:  The early colonial RI settlers built their houses in a different style than the Massachusetts or Connecticut settlers did. In RI, the primary architectural style was based on a massive stone chimney, which made up one whole wall of the house. In the main room the fireplace was big enough to walk into. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the chimney stack was in the middle of the house allowing for hearths in a number of rooms.

Most of RI’s stone enders were burned by the Indians in King Phiilip’s War of 1676.  On the Friday Field Trip, we will visit 4 Stone Enders that have survived;  Eleazer Arnold House and the Valentine Whitman House in Lincoln, the Clemence-Irons House in Johnston, and the Thomas Fenner House in Cranston.

Those interested should meet in the hotel lobby at 12:00 Noon.

 

● Sunday November 6:  9:30 am, Rick Lynch, Field Trip Guide

Rhode Island’s Revolutionary War:  Forts, Redoubts, & Batteries: The fieldtrip will be a tour of little known forts built during the Revolutionary War all located in Rhode Island.The tour will take us to the remains of 5 earthen forts, built by the British, French, and the Patriots of Rhode Island.  

All of the forts figured prominently in the siege of Newport, and the battle of Rhode Island.  Fort Barton in Tiverton, and the Conanicut Battery on the island of Jamestown are well restored and developed historical parks.  Butt’s Hill Fort in Portsmouth is well preserved but undeveloped and almost never visited.  The Hogpen Point Fort (Fort Hill) in East Providence is all but forgotten, but remains of the earthworks and earlier Native American presence are still clearly visible.  Fort Wetherill is located on the site of an early earthwork battery, later replaced  in 1800 and known as Fort Dumpling.  The fort was abandoned but reactivated and modernized with new large guns as part of the coastal defense network for World War II.  The fort is located on cliffs 100’ above the ocean.  WE will also visit Beavertail Light at the tip of Jamestown.  The site figured prominently from the Revolutionary War through all of the wars to the present!

Those interested should meet in the hotel lobby at 9:30 AM.

● Sunday November 6:  10:00 am, Jim Egan, Field Trip Guide

 

The Mystery of the Stone Ender:  In 1997,the remains of a colonial house were found high atop a cliff in southeastern Connecticut. The 6-foot-wide hearth, massive chimney base, foundation, and entrance step are all still visible. Architecturally, the building is a “stone-ender” (as opposed to “center–chimney”) which is a style predominantly found in RI.  The site also has remains of a stone chamber, outbuildings, stone “loading/trading” platforms, and colonial “lace” walls.  The fieldtrip will travel 1 mile into pristine woods past a Woodland Indian campsite, waterfall and high ledges all located in a remote part of the Pachaug State Forest in N. Stonington, CT.

 

Those interested should meet in the hotel lobby at 10:00 AM.

Additional side field trips will be organized with details available during the meeting.  Sites to be visited if there is enough interest will be to:

Pearson Stone Chamber & Pratt Hill: Upton, Massachusetts

Parker Woodland, Stone Piles, & Ruins: Foster/Coventry, Rhode Island

Newport Tower: Newport, Rhode Island

Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel Information

NEARA Room Rate Extended to October 25th!

Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel, 1850 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886, Reservations: 800-325-3535, Hotel Phone: 401-824-0670, Fax: 401-732-6872, www.sheraton.com/providenceairport.

The Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel, conveniently located off I-95 on Route 1 in Warwick, RI (at T. F. Green Airport just 6 miles south of Providence) offers excellent accommodations and conference facilities:  ample parking, spacious meeting spaces and reception area, charming guest rooms , work out and fitness center, heated indoor pool, internet, restaurant and cocktail lounge. With our Fall Meeting focus on Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut, this location provides easy access to a number of distinct and significant sites for Friday afternoon and Sunday field trips.

The hotel's guest rooms are beautifully decorated, relaxing and comfortable.  Feel free to contact the hotel directly to assure easy access and comfort. All special needs will be graciously accommodated. The hotel restaurant and lounge are open through out the weekend.  A variety of nearby restaurants, some within easy walking distance, offer additional choices for meals.

NEARA's hotel room block rate is $99 single/double - hotel guests will receive a discount coupon for breakfast.  The group rate also applies to Thursday, November 3rd and Sunday, November 6th for those who wish to extend their weekend--please contact the hotel’s sales manager directly at 401-824-0670 if you need additional nights.  Check-in time is 3 pm and check-out time is 12 noon.  A one-night deposit is required with your reservation.  Cancellations must be made by 4pm on Wednesday Nov 2^nd.  The NEARA rate will be held until October 14^th.  Reservations made after October 14^th will honor the group rate based upon availability.  NEARA Room Rate Extended to October 25th!

To make reservations by phone: Call Sheraton's reservation department 1-800-325-3535 and ask for the "New England Antiquities Research Association or NEARA block " room rate at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel.  Have your credit card ready to guarantee your reservation. Your card will be required upon check-in.

To make reservations on-line: the Sheraton’s website is www.sheraton.com/providenceairport.

Directions:

From all Directions:

Pick up I-95 to just south of Providence

Follow signs to Warwick - T F Green Airport.

Take exit 13 "Airport Connector" to US1/Post Road.                                

Turn left on US1, go north 1/4 mile.  Hotel is on your right.                   

Other Lodging in the vicinity:

Please mention the NEARA conference for best rate.

Hampton Inn:

2100 Post Road

1/2 Mile from the Sheraton

401-739-8888

 

Comfort Inn:

1940 Post road

Next door to the Sheraton

401-732-0470

 

Motel 6:

20 Jefferson Blvd.

1.5 miles from the Sheraton

401-467-9800

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Fall Meeting and Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel lodgings registrations forms.  Please print the forms, fill them out, and mail them in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

NEARA's Spring Meeting April 8 - 10, 2005

Focusing on the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

At the Sheraton Danbury Connecticut!

I-84 & Old Ridgebury Road

203-794-0600

www.sheraton.com/danbury

Speakers & Topics

Fall Conference Schedule

Special Field Trips: Chambers & Dolmens

Sheraton Danbury Hotel ~ Rates & Directions

Additional Accommodations

Registration

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Polly Midgley: Dolmens Along the Croton

Three dolmens (or dolmen type structures) are located in Westchester County along the Croton River.  None is more than 15 miles from the other.  What they have in common tells an interesting story and applies to other dolmens in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere. 

 

Polly Midgley is the NEARA coordinator for the Hudson Valley region of New York State.  Polly has been an active member in NEARA for the past 12 years and has become familiar with stone structures through NEARA field research.  She has lived most of her life in Westchester County, NY the focus of this report.

Rob Fisher: Horseshoe Mounds on the west Bank of the Susquehanna River

On the West Branch of the Susquehanna, above Lock Haven, on property that was once a thriving logging community named Glen Union, then a farm and now an artist’s studio and residence, are a series of stone horseshoe shaped mounds, remarkable for their concentric configuration. Currently six, perhaps seven horseshoe mounds can be seen, several quite clear and well defined.   Artist and property owner Rob Fisher invited NEARA member Larry Mulligan to help document several of these formations.  The horseshoe mounds are formed by two concentric rings of stone each about 5’ wide and separated from one another by about 5’.  The clearest formation has an outer ring 66' across, with the inner mound 43' in diameter.  The stones are piled up to a height of about 2’ to 2.5’’ and are comprised of both rounded river rock and mountain stone.  These mounds are at the base of the mountain that borders the property at the rear. They face the mountain and consequently face away from the river. This would apparently preclude them from being any type of defensive fortification.  As can be imagined, this site poses many mysteries, and any and all comments and opinions would be appreciated.

 

Rob Fisher is an internationally recognized artist.  He pioneered the application of the computer to large scale sculpture.  He is the co-author of a seminal book on visual form and his work has been widely exhibited and commissioned worldwide. Fisher received a B.Sc. degree in Humanities, Visual Design and Engineering from MIT in 1961 and a M.Sc. degree in Industrial Design from Syracuse University in 1965.  He has taught at the University of Illinois and Penn State and was appointed a Distinguished Fellow of the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.  In 2003 Rob Fisher completed a major public art commission for the Philadelphia International Airport Arrivals Hall entitled “American Dream” based on the calligraphy and text of the Declaration of Independence.  He and his wife spend about six months of the year at Glen Union where he discovered the mounds many years ago while hiking the 150 acre property.

Chuck Bailey: New Interpretations of the Jeffers Petroglyph Site 

The Jeffers Petroglyph Site in Southwestern Minnesota is on a large flat quartzite granite ledge on which an ancient people have inscribed over 2000 glyphs.  The site has been estimated to be over 5000 years old.  Our research group resurveyed and mapped the site in 1993.  Patterns of glyphs, revealed by our maps, indicted possible alignments with solar positions throughout the year.  In 2003, our experiments, using gnomons to cast shadows between groups of glyphs and symbols confirmed the method in which the site was used by the ancient people who made it.  I will present the results of out research.

 

Chuck Bailey has been recording and studying ancient sites in the Midwest and Southwest for over 40 years.  He has concentrated mainly on petroglyphs and pictographs left behind by many ancient peoples, because of the clues they provide to their beliefs and identities.  He recently taught a course in ancient world migrations and contacts with America for UFS at the University of Minnesota in Duluth.

Ralph J. Coffman: Reconstructing the Origins of the European Pleistocene in Africa

An intensive study of over 500 archaeological sites throughout Sub-Saharan Africa - Namibia, South Africa (The Cape, Transvaal, Drakensburg), Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, eastern Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya - makes it possible for the first time to begin the reconstruction of the extent of the Khoisan, click-speaking, hunter-gatherer peoples and their rich civilization.

 

This extensive archaeological survey, together with original ethnographic fieldwork, reveals a common body of shamanic, medicinal and ritual practices that are similar to and coeval with the Paleolithic peoples of North Africa and Western Europe. Furthermore, the similarity between the two suggests that these two cultural traditions were parallel in development with perhaps a common Late Pleistocene African substratum that we shall suggest in this presentation. This completely reverses the earlier viewpoint (now no longer seriously held) that the late Pleistocene traditions in Sub Saharan Africa were actually a product of European peoples. However, the reverse may be just as provocative, that the origin of Western European traditions are actually to be traced to Africa among the Khoisan peoples.

 

Ralph J. Coffman, B.A. Trinity College, Ed.M. Boston University, B.D. Andover Newton Theological School, M.S. Simmons College, Ph.D. Harvard University. Ralph is a member of various professional organizations (including the American Institute of Archaeology, The American Academy of Religion, The British Institute in Eastern Africa, The South African Archaeological Society, The Manitoba Archaeological Society, The Champlain Society and the Maine Archaeological Society). He has taught archaeology, prehistory and the history of religions at Harvard University, University of Lowell and Fitchburg State College. He is currently working on a project tentatively entitled “Planetary History” that regards the human species as only one of a plethora on our planet within the context of a rich and involved environmental history that has developed since the Pleistocene but has been obscured by an anthropocentric focus on the human species and its supposed dominance over all others. The Khoisan peoples of Sub Saharan Africa are a good antidote to this perspective as they regarded themselves as an integral part of the animal and plant kingdoms and not as superior to them.

Deb Twigg: Carantouannis, Spanish Hill, South Waverly, NY

Spanish Hill raises steeply above the surrounding river flats some 230 feet to a flat plateau of around ten acres in South Waverly, PA.  While it is most widely recognized as the site of Samuel Champlain's "Carantouan," this ancient sugarloaf shaped hill has been shrouded in mystery and interesting tales for the past 150 years.

In 2002, Deb Twigg began investigating the site, and in 2004, began compiling all of her research online.  This presentation will provide some of the interesting artifacts, historical references from as early as the start of the 17th century, as well as more recent research and new theories relative to this ancient place.

 

Deb Twigg is a local historian and is the Web Administrator at Guthrie Health in Sayre, PA.  She is also a technical training consultant.  In February 2004, she launched a website called SpanishHill.com - dedicated to the research she has done on this historical location.  Today the website currently receives an average of 1500 visits per month from interested parties all over the world. Recently, Twigg wrote a paper to be published in "Pennsylvania Archeologist" in 2005, as well as a paper to be published in the NEARA journal in 2005.  She has also created a 50-page booklet explaining the story of "Carantouan," written in a "simpler" version for all age groups to enjoy.  Her dedication to the topic of Spanish Hill and Carantouan are well noted in the region, as her efforts have even urged the creation of new legislation to rename the adjacent highway to the site, "The Spanish Hill Extension."

Roger Jewell: Finding a Cultural Tradition for New England Stonework

Roger will present the theory that the Red Paint Culture was a separate culture from the native archaic culture of New England 4000 years ago.  However, by 3000 years ago they had become one culture. This culture then slowly changed, creating the stone chambers, American Stonehenge, and standing stones of today’s New England. The presentation will show these connections can still be seen in current Algonquin Cosmology of 1500 AD and the present.

 

Roger will do this using several local artifacts and symbols: The N. Salem, NY Dolmen, two stone chambers in nearby Putnam County, NY and the five pointed star symbol carved on a local hill top.  He will then show how these local items fit into a much larger context.

 

Roger Jewell is the author of, Ancient Mines of Kitchi-Gummi, (2000) a book about the ancient copper mines found around Lake Superior. He lives in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area and has been a member of NEARA for several years. He graduated from the University of Minnesota (1962) with a degree in Forestry Management and spent 32 years in the management of National Forest of the Lake States.  It was in his capacity as the District Manager of the 243,000-acre Sault Sainte Marie Ranger District, of the Hiawatha NF, that he was exposed to the mystery of the Ancient Native Copper Mines. In 1994 he retired and has since been studying and writing on this and other subjects.  In the second edition of Ancient Mines of Kitchi-Gummi, (2004) a 27-page epilog, updates new information on the New England area.  He has also written ‘Riding the Wild Orb’, a story about extreme weather and a search for the historic fire cycles he observed. 

Thomas Brannan: Woods 'n Indians

William Woodhull, an English “fell-monger”, or dealer in hides, skins, and furs, came to America in 1638 to seek his fortune.  It appears that he struck a deal with the Native Americans of the Province of New York for exclusive trading rights in some 14 small parcels of land, all cornering on towns named “Wood”.  A map of them will be presented.  Many Woodhulls (and derivative Odells) still inhabit the fair state of New York.  The trading centers founded by their ancestors should provide clues to 17^th century trading patterns. 

 

Thomas F. Brannan is a civil engineer and land surveyor.  He has practiced for many years in the farm country and small towns of upstate New York and Pennsylvania.  He retired in 1992 as director of the Public Works Department for the city of Part Jervis, New York.  Thomas is a graduate of Rensselair Polytechnic Institute and of Purdue University.  He is a longtime member of the New York State Archaeological Association, and a past president of its Incorporated Orange County Chapter.

 

Numerous old landmarks such as standing stones, huge stone piles, and perched boulders, found in the woodland fields all over the Northeast have lead Mr. Brannan into a 30 year study of ancient American land Surveys.

Ted Timreck: Ceremonial Landscapes - The Stone Ruins of the Northeast

A Video Documentary: Unusual stones ruins dot the landscape of the Northeast.  This area has not been fully recognized as a region where indigenous peoples left ceremonial constructions on the land – despite almost all other regions of North America having an accepted legacy of Native American ritual landscape design.  This one-hour program explores new discoveries and developments that are leading scientists to change their approach to investigating these mysterious stone ruins.

 

The film includes a history of how the scientific, Native, and antiquarian interpretations developed over time.  It follows a team of national and local archeologists working with Native tribal representatives and antiquarian researchers to investigate the origins of newly discovered stone ruins in the Northeast.  This marks an experiment with representatives of various perspectives working together as they search for answers.  This collaboration originated in Vermont, marking a breakthrough in researching one of America’s most controversial archeological questions: Who built these structures and when did they do so?

 

Ted Timreck has been a producer and director for television and other media for 30 years, specializing in portraits of artists and scientists.  Beginning in 1980, he has worked extensively with Smithsonian scientists documenting field research for the The National Museum of Natural History, creating programming for public and cable television.  He is the producer of the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Web site and is also the producer for the National Museum’s Paleo Program Web Site.  His previous works include “The Lost Red Paint People” and “Vikings in America” for the PBS Nova series as well as “Franz Boas” for the PBS Odyssey series.  His television portraits of artists include Charles Ives, Thomas Eakins, Augustus Saint Gaudens, Frederick Law Olmsted, Aaron Copland, George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen.

 

His latest piece, a multi-part series, tells the story of early, Eastern North American sea cultures and the story of Circumpolar human migration at the end of the last Ice Age.  This documentary examines evidence that Northeastern Native people developed sophisticated maritime technology.  At a November public screening at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of some of the initial footage for this project, Ted was joined afterward by Dr. William Fitzhugh, Anthropology Department chair, for a discussion with the audience.

William B. F. Ryan: Illuminating the Floor of the Hudson River from the New York Harbor to the Troy Dam

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has funded the complete mapping of the Hudson River Estuary from the New York Harbor to the dam at Troy. This study includes, extremely detailed charting of the bottom depth with swath sonar, imaging the bottom roughness with side-looking sonar, probing the sediment interior with both acoustic and radar reflection profiling and ground-truth calibration with hundreds of cores and grab samples. The talk will present a visual tour of the new maps and mosaics along with some the major findings. These include features of geological, commercial, historic and archaeological interest such the catastrophic draining of the post-glacial Lake Albany with enormous floods sent out to the Atlantic shelf, the impacts created by three centuries of reconfiguration of the river bed shape due to landfill, dredging and the building of piers and bridges, the remains of "cheveux de frise" that were set on the riverbed by General Washington near West Point to sink British ships during the Revolutionary War, craters still preserved from artillery fired by long-range canon toward  Storm King Mountain at the time of the Civil War, the ghost of pilings of docks used to load ice from Rockland Lake for shipping to Manhattan prior to refrigeration with electricity, the footprint of the US Navy "Mothball Fleet" and  individual shipwrecks of an illustrious vintage.

 

William B. F. Ryan has explored the ocean floor since 1961, when after graduation from Williams College he apprenticed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic institution as an electronics technician.  He sailed on their research vessel, “Chain” for a five-month voyage across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean using sound waves to image the seabed and its interior.  He then went on to pursue graduate studies in geology and geophysics at Columbia University and received his Ph. D. in 1971.  He began teaching in the university’s department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in 1978.  His research interests are broad and encompass studies of continental margins, mid-ocean ridges, plate tectonics and climates of the past. 

 

Ryan has been a co-chief scientist on four expeditions of the Deep Sea Drilling Project.  Its mission was the recovery sediment cores to depths of more than one kilometer beneath the seafloor in order to uncover the past history of the oceans back to more that 150 million years ago.  He was onboard the drillship “Glomar Challenger” in 1970 during the discovery that the Mediterranean Sea had dried out and transformed to a deep desert landscape five and a half million years ago.

 

Ryan has also been a developer and exploiter of new technology to image and map the seafloor with instruments towed on several-mile long cables behind survey ships and more recently with self-powered autonomous vehicles that roam just a few meters above the bottom.  He has had more than a dozen dives in submersibles and submarines, including the “Alvin” and “NR1”.

 

In 1993 he responded to an invitation from Russia to join scientists from the Southern Branch of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology and investigate the seabed of the Black Sea.  During this project, advanced sonar revealed a vast and now-drowned terrestrial landscape surrounding an ancient freshwater lake fed by streams from melting glaciers and ice sheets. Sediment cores showed an abrupt transformation of this lake into a saltwater sea that he has described for the general reader in "Noah's Flood, The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History", published by Simon and Schuster in 1999 and co-authored with Walter Pitman.

 

Most recently Ryan led a study of the National Research Council summarized in a report, "Illuminating the Hidden Planet: the Future of Seafloor observatory Science", published by the National Academy Press. Ryan has received the Shepard Medal for excellence in marine geology and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. Over the years the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation has supported his research and that of his students.

Schedule of Events

Friday April 8

2:15  Special Field Trip to Croton Park

5:00 -7:00 pm Registration and Book Sales

7:00  Poly Midgley: Dolmens Along the Croton

7:45  Rob Fisher: Horseshoe Mounds on the West Bank of the Susquehanna

8:30  Break, Book Sales, Exhibits

8:45  Chuck Bailey: New Interpretations of the Jeffers Petroglyph Site

 

Saturday April 9

 

  9:00 am  Registration and Book Sales

10:00  State Coordinator Reports

11:15  Ralph Coffman: Reconstructing the Origins of European Pleistocene in Africa

12:00  Lunch on your own, Book Sales, Exhibits

  1:30  Deb Twigg: Carantouannais, Spanish Hill, South Waverly, NY

  2:00  Roger Jewell: Finding a Cultural Tradition for New England Stonework

  2:30  Tom Brannan: Woods n' Indians

  3:00  Break, Book Sales, Exhibits

  3:30  Ted Timereck: Video Presentation: The Stone Ruins of the Northeast

  5:00  Meeting wrap-up and announcements

  5:30  Cocktail Hour

  6:30  Banquet

  8:00  William Ryan: Illuminating the Floor of the Hudson River

 

 

Saturday April 10

 

  9:00  Special Field Trip of Chambers with Walter Wheeler

 

  9:30  Special Field Trip of Chambers with Betty and Rudy Cypser

 

10:00  Special Field Trip of Hammonassett Line

Special Field Trips

Friday April 8:

 

Croton Point Park:  Scott Horecky will guide NEARA members on a tour of local sites at Croton Point Park, at 2:15pm.  The tour will include a fortified village, earthworks of the Kitchawanc Indians, shell middens, an arrowhead collection and information about Louis Brennan and William Ritchie.  Croton Point Park is a scenic location where the Hudson River and the Croton River join.  The Croton Dam, originally responsible for all of NYC’s water supply, is en route and maybe seen via a very short detour. 

 

Scott Horecky is an active and knowledgeable member of the Louis A. Brennan Lower Hudson Chapter of the NYS Archaeological Association.

 

Sunday April 10:

 

California Hill, Peekskill Hollow Rd. and Whangtown Road Chambers:  Walter Wheeler will guide NEARA members.  This guided tour will be in Putnam County and it involves about 2 miles of walking for entire trip.  Trip leaves at 9:00am.

 

Chambers located in Danbury and in nearby Westchester and Putnam Counties:  Betty and Rudy Cypser will guide NEARA members on a tour of theses chamber sites.  The trip will drive past the No. Salem dolmen and participants may stop there.  Not very much walking and trip leaves at 9:30am.

 

See Edward Bochnak's Photo Tour of Putnam County Chambers!

 

See Carol A. Hanny's theory on the Putnam Valley Chambers!

 

Hammonassett Line: Tom Paul will guide NEARA members on a tour of the lithic site (on the NEARA webpage), stone walls, cairns, and standing stones in Madison, CT.  This guided tour will start at 10:30am at the site.

 

See Tom Paul's NEARA report on the Hammonassett Line!

Sheraton Danbury Hotel Information

Sheraton Danbury Hotel, 18 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT 06810.  Phone: 203-794-0600, Fax: 203-798-7735, Web: www.sheeraton.com/danbury

The Sheraton Danbury Hotel, conveniently located just off I-84 in Danbury, CT. offers the best in hotel accommodations and conference facilities: ample parking, spacious meeting rooms and reception areas, charming guest rooms, work out and fitness center, heated indoor pool, restaurant and cocktail lounge.  With our Spring Meeting focus on the Hudson Valley and its surroundings, this location provides easy access to a number of distinct and significant sites for the Sunday field trips.

The hotel’s 242 guest rooms are beautifully decorated, relaxing and comfortable.  The Sheraton Danbury will graciously accommodate all special needs.  Feel free to contact the hotel directly to assure easy access and comfort.  The hotel restaurant and lounge are open through out the weekend.  A variety of nearby restaurants offer additional choices for meals.  The vast Danbury Mall is four miles from the hotel.

NEARA has a block of rooms reserved at a special rate of $79 single/double.  This rate also applies to Thursday, April 7 and Sunday, April 10 for those who wish to extend their weekend.  Check-in time is 3:00 p.m. and check out time is 12:00 noon.  A one night deposit is required with your reservation.  Cancellations must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the night of arrival.  The NEARA rate will be held until March 18^th.  Reservations made after March 18^th will honor the group rate based upon availability.

Lodgings Announcement, 3-21-2005: The cut-off date for the NEARA hotel room rate of $79 has been extended to Friday, March 25th.  Reservations made after the cut-off date will honor the group rate based upon availability.

To make reservations by phone:  Call Sheraton Danbury Hotel reservation department at 1-800-325-3535 and ask for the “NEARA block” room rate.

To make reservations on-line: 

• Go to www.sheraton.com/danbury

 

• Click on meeting site at top of page.  Click on attend a meeting at bottom of the page.

 

• Enter city (Danbury) and state (CT) and NEARA meeting code (2027).  “Continue”. Click on “Select” next to hotel name.

 

• Proceed with Reservation.

 

• Have your credit card ready to guarantee your reservation. Your card will be required upon check-in.

Directions:

From the south and west:  Exit 2 off I-84E, Mill Plain Rd.

To Old Ridgebury Rd. Turn left at bottom of ramp, proceed to second light, turn right.

At next light turn right, go over highway; hotel is on your left.

 

From the north and east:  Exit 2A off I-84W, to Old Ridgebury Rd.

Turn left at end of ramp, go over highway, hotel is on your left.

Other Lodging in the vicinity:

Super 8 Motel: 

Exit 4 at I-84

203-743-0064

2 miles from the Sheraton.

 

Hilton Garden Inn: 

Exit 1, I-84E, or Exit 2B,I-84W

203-205-2000

1 mile from the Sheraton.

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Spring Meeting and Sheraton Danbury Hotel lodgings registrations forms.  Please print the forms, fill them out, and mail them in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

NEARA's Fall Meeting  October 29 - 31, 2004

NEARA's 40th Anniversary - A Year of Celebration

Part One Spring 2004 / Part Two Fall 2004

Speakers & Topics

Fall Conference Schedule

Senator Inn & Spa ~ Rates & Directions

Additional Accommodations

Registration

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Sue Carlson: Discovery, Delight and Disillusion, the Early Years

In 1971 Walter Elliott's discovery of the Spirit Pond Stones sent the Maine Archaeology community into a tailspin. Were they authentic, proving the Vikings were here? Or were they a hoax, a fraud or just plain fakes? The supporters and debunkers quickly drew a line in the Phippsburg sand which still hasn't been crossed. Sue Carlson will retell the "truth can be stranger than fiction" story as it unfolded in the early years with updates on subsequent developments.

 

Suzanne Carlson, NEARA publications chair and preservation architect, blends her architectural expertise with her ongoing studies of early voyages around the North Atlantic Rim.

Sue Carlson: The Spirit Pond Runestones, Rhyme and Reason

First presented in 1993, Sue will take us once more in her journey from idle speculation to a careful analysis of the meaning of the runes and the poetic foundation of their composition.  Both Old Norse and English examples introduce the complex structure of Norse rhyme in easy stages, finally revealing a possible mini-saga told by the stones and linguistic verification of the 14th century carbon 14 date from the 1972 excavations.

 

Suzanne Carlson, NEARA publications chair and preservation architect, blends her architectural expertise with her ongoing studies of early voyages around the North Atlantic Rim.

Edward J. Lenik: NEARA's Search for Norse Occupation at Spirit Pond, Maine

NEARA, in cooperation with the Maine Bureau of Parks and recreation, conducted archaeological excavations at Spirit Pond, Phippsburg, Maine.  The work was prompted by the discovery, in 1971, of three small stones bearing runic or Norse inscriptions.  The purpose of the excavations was to uncover evidence of Norse settlement and exploration in the Spirit Pond area, and thus support the authenticity of the three rune stones.

 

Four sites bordering Spirit Pond were surveyed and excavated in the period between 1972 to 1974.  The first site was a long stone wall located along the west shore below the outlet of the pond which had a surface appearance of being a possible structure or foundation.  Site number two was a shell heap and rectangular depression along the west shore adjacent to the area where the rune stones were found.  The excavations at this site uncovered Indian pottery of the middle Woodland period, late archaic projectile points, as well as some early 19^th century colonial pottery.  The third site excavated was in the immediate area of where the three rune stones were found.  The area proved to be completely devoid of material culture.  The major excavation effort was devoted to site number 4 which consisted of two horseshoe-shaped earth mounds with depressions in their centers.  These man-made structures measured 32 feet long by 21 feet wide and 20 feet long by 19 feet wide respectively and were located side by side at the edge of the bank with their open ends facing the pond.  The excavation of these two structures indicated them to be semi-subterranean shelters or sod house of European origin.  Evidence was found of Indian occupation as well as 17^th and 18^th century colonial occupation.  However, the intensity of occupation in these primitive shelters appears to be in the third quarter of the 18^th century.

 

No evidence of Norse occupation or exploration was uncovered in the 1972-1974 excavations at Spirit Pond.  However, the archaeological work has established a 6,500 year cultural history for the Spirit Pond Area.

Edward Lenik is past archaeological director for NEARA.  He is a member of the American Rock Art Research Association and the Eastern States Rock Art Research Association and past president of the Archaeological Society of New jersey and the Eastern States Archaeological Federation. His published work includes “Picture Rocks, American Indian Rock Art in the Northeast Woodlands” (2002), “Indians in the Ramapos” (2000), and “Iron Mines Trails” (1996).

Mark Hedden, Ray Gerber, & Wayne Newell: Song of the Drums, the Petroglyphs of Maine    (Video Presentation)

This 47 minute video in DVD format was written and conceived by Mark Hedden, filmed by Cinephotographer, Ray Gerber with narration by Wayne Newell, Passamaquoddy Nation historian and tribal member.  The video documents the extensive rock art of Maine and its context from a native perspective.  The excellent presentation will be available for purchase during the meeting.

Terry J. Deveau: Ancient Inscription Sites in Nova Scotia

The rocky shores and sheltered inlets of Nova Scotia have been visited by many people over the centuries. Some of these travelers have carved messages in symbols and pictures on stone surfaces that we can still find today, while other inscriptions have already vanished from many years of weathering. The Mi'kmaq people who lived here for thousands of years have left behind a large number of fascinating petroglyphs, other curious inscriptions can be attributed to European colonists of historical times; there are a few sites, however, that remain enigmatic.

The talk will begin with an overview of the known inscription sites around the Province. More detailed information will then be presented on some of the most enigmatic inscriptions. Many people have heard of the controversial Fletcher Stone (also known as the Yarmouth "Runic" Stone). A few have heard of mysterious inscriptions found on McNutt's Island and Oak Island. But there are a number of other interesting inscriptions in Nova Scotia that are almost unknown. In most cases it is not clear if they are truly ancient or of a more recent origin. These include the Bay View Stone, the Plymouth Stone, the Lily Lake Petroglyph, and the inscriptions on Lent's Island, Seal Island, Goose Island, and Green Island.
 
Terry J. Deveau lives in Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, and works as a software developer and defense contractor, specializing in computer models of underwater sound and sonar performance. He holds a BSc in Mathematics and a Diploma in Engineering from Saint Mary's University as well as a Master of Science in Acoustics from Pennsylvania State University. In his spare time, Terry has spent the past 40 years exploring many of the remote nooks and crannies of Nova Scotia. He is a member of the Nova Scotia Archaeological Society, the Nova Scotia Historical Society, and the Yarmouth Historical Society. He currently holds a Category-A Heritage Research Permit from the Nova Scotia Museum for archaeological reconnaissance in the Chain Lakes watershed area.

Dick Doyle: Lithic Sources of Maine Stone Tools 

Dick Doyle, expert Maine flint-knapper, will bring examples of Maine stone points and tools, and will briefly describe the types of stone and their sources the Native people of Maine used. He will continue his flint knapping demonstration during the lunch break

 

Richard (Dick) Doyle has been interested in archaeology since 1971, attended the University of Southern Maine majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Geology. He has been involved in the Maine Archaeological Society since 1974: on the Board of Directors since 1982 and a six-term past president. He has been interested in stone tools with a desire to understand them as completely as possible. This has lead Dick to learn the ancient art of flint knapping which has been a 15 year effort, indeed he's still learning with each new pile of flakes that he creates.

 Ted Timreck: The NEARA Legacy: Forty Years of Exploration & Mystery

The presentation will introduce documentary video research that is beginning to tell the story of the discovery and recognition of the Northeastern stone ruins.  For forty years, the NEARA organization has been researching and preserving one of the archeological mysteries that sit on the edge of anthropological theory in North America.  NEARA is an organization made up of many varied perspectives but all of them are based fundamentally on the interpretation of cultural landscape.  The history of NEARA is the history of many different visions for an architectural phenomenon that does not fit easily into the widely accepted story of human cultural development in the Northeast.  It is the range of these visions - situated as they are at the edge of "acceptable" science - that will be chronicled in the video and may end up being the true value of NEARA's legacy for the future.

 

Ted Timreck has been a producer and director for television and other electronic media since the mid-1970’s.  He has specialized in portraits of artists and scientists.  Beginning in 1980, he has worked extensively with Smithsonian scientists documenting field research for The National Museum of Natural History cratin programming for public and cable television.  He is the producer of the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Web site and is also the producer for the National Museum’s Paleo Program Web Site.  His previous works include “Franz Boas” for the PBS Odyssey series, “The Lost Red Paint People” and “Vikings on America” for PBS (Nova).  His television portraits of artists include, Charles Ives, Thomas Eakins, Augustus Saint Gaudens, Frederick Law Olmsted, Aron Copland, George L. K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghysen.  His latest piece, a muti-part series, tells the story of early, Eastern Native American sea cultures and the story of Circumpolar human migration at the end of the last Ice Age.

Mark Hedden and Deborah Wilson: Cairns on Obed Wilson's Farm in Bingham, Maine

Eight intriguing stone cairns were discovered in the early 1970s on a high landform overlooking the Kennebec River in Bingham, Maine.  The cairns were surveyed and their arrangement appeared to be astronomical.  No cultural material was identified in the vicinity of the cairns, however, so their age, cultural affiliation, and purpose remained speculative.

 

To shed light on the nature of the cairns, NEARA sponsored a preliminary archaeological survey in early July, 2004.  Following a period of documentary research, Maine archaeologists Mark Hedden and Deborah Wilson and a group of NEARA members excavated a trench through one cairn and dug ten exploratory pits, some between the cairns and others beyond the perimeter of the array.  The talk presents the survey results and discusses options for further work.

 

Mark Hedden has worked in prehistoric and historic archaeology since 1953.  During the last 27 years, he has worked with the Maine State Museum and as an archaeologist on the Maine Historic Preservation Commission staff.  He has published extensively on prehistoric rock art in Maine and North America.  Hedden recently wrote the narration for the 2004 film, "Song of the Drum: the Petroglyphs of Maine."

Deb Wilson has worked in Maine archaeology for twenty years and currently runs an archaeological consulting firm.  In addition to cultural resource management projects, Wilson’s firm conducts public education projects, often in association with land trusts and other organizations.  Prior to opening a consulting firm, Wilson worked for the Maine State Museum and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.  She holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an M.A. from Goddard College.  Her research interests focus on prehistoric archaeology and include the peopling of the Northeast, shell midden archaeology, and the use of oral traditions in interpreting prehistoric remains.

Dr. Robert R. Stieglitz: Naval Enterprise in Biblical Israel

Robert Stieglitz examined the extent and impact of maritime activity on the ancient Hebrews, and the role of the Phoenicians in developing Israelite interests in naval enterprise.  The unique position of the land of Canaan as a bridge between continents, and as a link between the Mediterranean and Red Seas is discussed in light of Biblical references and archaeological discoveries.

 

The discussion begins with a survey of the harbor types that existed along the coast of biblical Israel.  We then proceed to ship types of the Phoenician-Israelite fleets, beginning with the 10^th century B.C.E. and concluding with the achievements of Herod the Great, who founded Caesarea Maritima and its artificial harbor Sebastos in the 1^st century B.C.E.  The persistent hints of transoceanic voyages by ancient Phoenicians and Jews will be assessed in light of what we know of these ancient mariners and their seafaring abilities.

 

Robert R. Stieglitz, Pd.D. (Brandeis University, 1971), has excavated in the U.S., Greece and Israel, and has surveyed throughout the Mediterranean world.  He is the recipient of numerous academic honors and awards, and author of over one hundred and twenty articles on the ancient Near East and various Mediterranean studies.   He has taught at universities and institutes in Greece, Israel and the United States.

 

Formerly curator of the National Maritime Museum, Haifa, he has been excavating at various harbor sites on the Mediterranean coast of Israel since 1982 (Tel Mikhmoret, Caesarea, Tel Tanninim).  Currently, he is Associate Professor of Hebraic Studies and director of the program in Ancient & Medieval Civilizations at Rutgers University-Newark, NJ.

Brian Robinson: Continuing Research on the Morrill Point Mound Site

The Morrill Point Mound in Salisbury, Massachusetts has an Early Archaic period cemetery component, in addition to later Woodland period occupation material.  The site was excavated between 1979 to 1981 by James P. Whittall and the Early Sites Research Society.  The Early Archaic period component represented a previously unrecognized cultural expression in the Northeast, including a mixture of artifacts that did not seem to fit together.   However, similar assemblages had been excavated by avocational archaeologist in the early 1900s and the Morrill Point Mound site contributed greatly to making sense out of what the speaker defined as the "The Morrill Point burial complex" in 1992.   This presentation provides a history and progress report on this recently recognized cultural expression.
 
Brian Robinson received his BA in Anthropology at the University of New Hampshire and his PhD at Brown University.  His dissertation, entitled "Burial Ritual, Groups, and Boundaries on the Gulf of Maine: 8600-3800 B.P.," involved analysis of sites and artifact assemblages that were excavated over the last century, including extensive interviews with avocational archaeologists who worked from the 1920s to the present.  The Morrill Point Mound site was among the most recent excavations in the project.  Brian was recently appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Maine, in the Anthropology Department and the Climate Change Institute.

Schedule of Events

Friday October 29

2:00 -5:00 pm The Spirit Pond Stones will be on view at the Maine State Museum (see map)

Dinner on your own at the Senator Inn or restaurants in the Augusta vicinity.

5:00  Registration and Book Sales

7:00  Sue Carlson: Spirit Pond Revisited

7:45  Ed Lenik: NEARA’s Search for Norse Occupation at Spirit Pond, Maine

8:45  Mark Hedden: Video, Song of the Drums, The Petroglyphs of Maine

9:15  Discussion, Chat and Share, Book Sales, Exhibits

Saturday October 30

 

  9:00 am  Registration and Book Sales, Exhibits

10:00  State Coordinator Reports

11:00  Terry Deveau: Ancient Inscription Sites in Nova Scotia  

11:45  Richard Doyle: Lithic Sources of Maine Stone Tools

12:00  Richard Doyle: Ongoing flint knapping demonstration

12:00  Lunch on your own, Book Sales, Exhibits

1:30 pm  Ted Timreck: The NEARA Legacy:  Forty Years of Exploration and Mystery

2:15  Mark Hedden & Deborah Wilson: Cairns on Obed Wilson’s Farm, Bingham Maine

3:15  Break, Book Sales, Exhibits

3:45  Dr. Robert Stieglitz: Naval Enterprise in Biblical Israel

4:45  Meeting wrap up and announcements

5:00  Cocktail Hour

6:00  NEARA 40^th Anniversary Reception

6:30  Banquet

8:00  Brian Robinson: Continuing Research on the Morrill Point Mound Site

Sunday October 31

Northern Trips:  The petroglyphs at Embden/Solon, on the Kennebec, are about an hour north on Route 201.  There is a 10-15 minute easy walk.  The Bingham Cairn Site is only a few miles away and another easy walk.  Wear shoes with a good grip and, as usual, wear appropriate clothing, and bring rain gear.

Southern Trips: Damariscotta Shell Mounds, Northport Tunnel, possibly Spirit Pond area.

Lodging & Senator Inn & Spa Information

Senator Inn & Spa, Western Avenue at I-95, Augusta, Maine 04330.  Phone: 1-877-772-2224, Fax: 207-922-8803, Web: www.senatorinn.com. 

The Senator Inn & Spa, conveniently located just off I-95 at exit 109 in Augusta, offers traditional hospitality in a contemporary setting: delicious food, luxurious spa services, a beautiful indoor pool, workout gym, and comfortable and tasteful guest rooms. First floor rooms provide direct access to the outside with parking at your door.  The Inn will graciously accommodate your special needs.

We look forward to holding our 40^th Anniversary Meeting–Part Two in this excellent facility and in Maine’s capitol.  Augusta is centrally located among a number of significant lithic sites which will be choices for Sunday’s field trips, and is home to the Maine State Museum where the Spirit Pond Stones will be on view (by special arrangement) Friday afternoon from 2-5pm. (see map)

NEARA has a block of rooms reserved at a special rate of $89 single/double with full breakfast.  This rate applies to Thursday, October 28 and Sunday, October 31 for those who wish to extend their weekend. Hotel guests will receive coupons for a full breakfast. Check-in time is 3 pm and check-out time is 12 noon.  A one-night deposit is required with your reservation.  Cancellations must be made by 4pm on the night of arrival.  The NEARA rate will be held until October 15 and reservations made after this date will be on a space available basis at the NEARA rate.  Because the hotel is the main conference facility in Augusta, we strongly suggest you make your reservations early.

Call toll free to the Senator Inn at 1-877-772-2224 and ask for the "NEARA group" room rate. You may also use the Senator Inn room reservation form on the registration page to mail in or fax to the hotel.

The Hotel Restaurant serves all meals all weekend.  A special lunch buffet for NEARA at $14 inclusive will be served in the lower dining room on Saturday and will be paid for at the hotel.  We ask that you indicate your interest in the buffet lunch on our registration form so we may give the hotel a general idea of numbers.  A variety of nearby restaurants offer additional choices for meals. 

Directions to the Senator Inn    (also, see MapQuest for maps and directions.)

Other Lodgings in the Augusta Vicinity:  (For map, click here)

Motel 6

16 Edison Drive

off Exit 109

$53 plus tax

207-622-0000

 

Econo Lodge & Suites

390 Western Ave

off Exit 109

$60 plus tax

207-622-6371

Registration   (click here)  

Please follow the link for Fall Meeting and Senator Inn lodgings registrations forms.  Please print the forms, fill them out, and mail them in.  (We do not have on-line registration capabilities as yet.)  Thank you!

NEARA's Spring Meeting  April 23 - 25, 2004

NEARA's 40th Anniversary - A Year of Celebration

Part One Spring 2004 / Part Two Fall 2004

Speakers & Topics

Spring Conference Schedule

Sheraton Nashua Hotel ~ Rates & Directions

Additional Accommodations

Special Field Trips

Registration

Part Two

Featured Speakers & Abstracts

Evan Pritchard: Islands of Fire: exploring Native American Council Fire Islands in New England and New York

Eastern Woodland Algonquin tradition holds that islands in rivers and lakes were preferred as sites for council fire meetings as they were easily defensible against enemies, and protecting the elders and leaders was of particular importance.

In this talk, author Evan Pritchard will share his recent research into this phenomenon, combining oral tradition, colonial records, archaeology, linguistics, and logic, revealing a highly sophisticated network of islands, connected by trails and rivers.  What emerges is a clear picture of how Algonquins used the land in developing their highly mobile society.

Evan Pritchard, is director of the Center for Algonquin Culture and is of Micmac, Wampanoag and Celtic descent. Through his lectures and books, such as, ‘No Word for Time’ and ‘Native New Yorker,’ he has worked to highlight the importance of Algonquin culture in North American history. Pritchard is a professor of Native American History at Marist College, and lectures throughout the US and Canada.

Daniel J. Leary: Walls & Maps of Mystery Hill & the Peak of Haverhill, MA: An Argument for Historic Origins

In 1977 Dan was asked for his opinion about the chambers and stone walls at the North Salem site, known as Mystery Hill, as to what came first, the walls or the chambers.  Dan’s response surprised the interviewer as he suggested the walls were built before the chambers. Later he found out that another researcher, Charles Pearson, a surveyor, made the same observation. This account was printed in the “Mystery Hill Story” by Mark Feldman in 1977.

It was because of this that Dan focused all of his efforts toward this study of the walls, though not to prove the ‘who’ but the ‘how,’ ‘why’ and ‘when.’  During this study Dan came across some startling information regarding surveying angles used in colonial times and the angles engraved in the large bolder, at the western edge of Mystery Hill, known as the “G” stone.

Dan later found that these same angles, on the “G” stone and the walls at Mystery Hill, were portrayed on a 1732 map outlining the western boundary of the ‘Peak of Haverhill’ where Mystery Hill is located.  This map depicted the eastern boundaries of the towns of Dracut MA, and Pelham, Windham, Londonderry and Derry NH.  Dan’s talk will demonstrate the obvious similarities between these three items.  The viewers can come to their own conclusions.

Dan Leary joined NEARA in 1974. He started working at Mystery Hill and continued there until 1980.  After that time he conducted several archaeological projects in both NH and VT.  The projects in NH were under the guidance of the State Dept .of Historical Resources and then State Archaeologist, Dr. Gary Hume.  Dan is a mechanical engineer and the director of Sales and Marketing for Materials Research Furnaces, Inc., developing high temperature and high vacuum furnaces for private research and government funded projects.  In addition he is a financial consultant for Numismatic research and investments.

Richard Boisvert: The Paleo Highway: Archaeological Research on US Route 2

Over the last decade, several archaeological investigations have brought to light a series of paleo-Indian sites along what is now US Route 2.  These sites, stretching from Burlington, Vermont, through Jefferson and Randolph, New Hampshire and on to Mexico, Maine and beyond, form a chain that lies near the northern frontier of known fluted point sites.  A synthesis of what has been learned to date and some speculations on the trajectory of future research will be presented.  The role of climate change and the history of the paleo-Indian culture are of particular interest and will be discussed.

Richard Boisvert is the state archaeologist for New Hampshire, New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources.

Donald Gilmore: When the Sahara was Green: A Rock Art Gallery

From tropical paleo times through a fertile “golden age” to the desert condition, the stone surfaces of the vast Sahara area have served as a canvas to record the life and preoccupations of its’ inhabitants.  Detailed study of this richest of the world’s rock art galleries has only begun, and current insecurities in the region are hampering further study.  But the tantalizing glimpses we already have of this record of a people only whets’ the appetite for more, especially when it is housed in such spectacular scenery.

Donald Gilmore is past president of NEARA.  Don also had a career in the US State Department, as an officer, serving in many locations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa before his retirement.

Ted Timreck: Preserving Cultural Landscape with the Moving Image

Ted will present a program on the importance of early video documentation to the history of NEARA research.  He will also discuss the current collaborations between his company, NEARA, and several private donors that will create a celebration video for the organization's 40th anniversary.  The proposed program will document the history of NEARA's development.

Ted Timreck has been a producer and director for television and other electronic media since the mid-1970’s.  He has specialized in portraits of artists and scientists.  Beginning in 1980, he has worked extensively with Smithsonian scientists documenting field research for The National Museum of Natural History creating programming for public and cable television.  He is the producer of the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Web site and is also the producer for the National Museum's Paleo Program Web Site.  His previous works include "Franz Boas" for the PBS Odyssey series, "The Lost Red Paint People" and "Vikings in America" for PBS (Nova).  His television portraits of artists include, Charles Ives, Thomas Eakins, Augustus Saint Gaudens, Frederick Law Olmsted, Aron Copland, George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghysen.  His latest piece, a multi-part series, tells the story of early, Eastern Native American sea cultures and the story of Circumpolar human migration at the end of the last Ice Age.

Malcolm Pearson: A "Graphic" NEARA Award Presentation to Frederick Pohl

This is a short video presentation by Malcolm Pearson of Warren Dexter presenting a NEARA award for Frederick Pohl's exceptional research over the years.  The award was presented to Fred just a few days before his passing.

Michael J. Caduto: A Time Before New Hampshire

For 12,000 years the Alnôbak (Abenaki) and their ancestors have lived amidst northern New England's abundance.  They co-evolved with a changing landscape and sustained themselves in ways molded by practical needs and spiritual beliefs.  Author Michael Caduto draws from his new book as he helps us to imagine a living past.  Through stories, slides and discussion we’ll explore traditional culture, land use and stewardship.  Caduto will also present a brief geologic and glacial history of the New Hampshire region.

Michael J. Caduto has worked for 25 years to promote a better understanding of Native American cultures and their relationships to the environment  He has studied and shared indigenous practices through teaching, performing and writing as well as friendships and collaborations with native peoples. A TIME BEFORE NEW HAMPRHIRE, his 12th book, explores 4.6 billion years of evolution in the land of northern New England, including 12,000 years of development in the native cultures of this region.  Michael is also the author of EARTH TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, POND AND BROOK, and is co-author of the KEEPERS OF THE EARTH® series.  Caduto¹s numerous awards include the national Aesop Prize (American Folklore Society's "best book of the year"), the New York State Outdoor Education Association¹s Art and Literary Award and the New England Regional Environmental Educator Award.  Michael holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in Natural Resources/Environmental Education from the University of Michigan.

Fredrick Wiseman:  Landscape Geography and Stone Structures; A Test of the Euro-American Hypothesis

Enigmatic stone structures in the Abenaki homeland of Vermont and New Hampshire are extremely important to understanding the prehistory of the area.  Three relatively well-developed schools of thought seem to characterize the study of the ruins.  The oldest and perhaps the most well funded is the "Ancient European Mariners" hypothesis, the most in vogue with professional archaeologists is the "post contact root cellar hypothesis, and the least popular is an indigenous (Native American) origin.  Archaeology has heretofore been unable to effectively test the hypothesis.  Landscape geography, which studies patterned  land use as structured reflection of cultural norms and ideals, ideals that are empirically different among Native, Colonial Farmers and ancient mariners.  Stone landscape built environment analogs were investigated in British American and Continental (German/Swiss. Alsatian) homelands in Berks County PA, and compared with the New England examples.  The analysis revealed interesting hints of a solution to the problem of stone built landscapes.

Frederick M. Wiseman is a professor at Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont and is director of the Abenaki Tribal Museum in Swanton, Vermont.

Betty Meggers: Difficulty in Distinguishing Diffusion from Independent Invention and Convergence

Much of the disagreement over transoceanic contact stems from the fact that similar results can be achieved by independent invention because of environmental and functional constraints.  This will be demonstrated by the similarities in a variety of artifacts in the prehistoric cultures of the southwestern United States and northwestern Argentina.

Betty J. Meggers has been a long time Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution  and an early proponent of trans-oceanic diffusion.  She is well known for her comparisons of the Valdivian culture of coastal Ecuador and the early Jomon of Japan.

Schedule of Events

Friday April 23

1:00 - 4:00 pm America’s Stonehenge:  Field trip guided by Dennis Stone and Rick Lynch. (See details here.)

Dinner on your own at the Sheraton Nashua Hotel or restaurants in the Nashua vicinity.

5:00  Registration and Book Sales

7:00  Richard Boisvert: The Paleo Highway: Archaeological Research on US Route 2

8:00  Evan Pritchard: Islands of Fire: Exploring Native American Council Fire Islands in NE and NY

9:00  Ted Timreck: Preserving Cultural Landscape with the Moving Image

10:00  Free Time: Miscellaneous presentations by NEARA members **

 

** For planning purposes, please contact Rick Lynch (401-954-3829) (hstrclrsch@aol.com) if you wish to present.

 

 

Saturday April 24

 

  9:00 am  Registration and Book Sales

10:00  State Coordinator Reports moderated by Lisa Gannon

11:00  Michael J. Caduto: A Time Before New Hampshire

12:00  Lunch on your own at the Sheraton Nashua Hotel or restaurants in the Nashua vicinity.

  1:30 pm  Don Gilmore: When the Sahara was Green:  A Rock Art Gallery

  2:15  Dan Leary: Walls & Maps of Mystery Hill &  the Peak of Haverhill, MA: An Argument for Historic Origins

  3:00  Break and Book Sales

  3:15  Betty Meggers: Difficulty in Distinguishing Diffusion from Independent Invention and Convergence

  4:00  Malcolm Pearson: A “Graphic” NEARA Award Presentation to the late Frederick Pohl by Warren Dexter, video taped by Malcolm Pearson

  4:15  Fred Wiseman:  Landscape Geography and Stone Structures: A Test of the Euro-American Hypothesis

  5:00  Meeting wrap up and announcements.

  5:15  Cocktail Hour

  6:30  Banquet

  7:45  Preserving the Back Forty, Reflections of the Early Years: Memories saved and savored will be shared in a special “oral history” presented by long time members, Betty Peterson, Bill Carey, Malcolm Pearson, Ros Strong and others, looking back over the high-ways and by-ways of NEARA’s early years.  Sue Carlson will moderate a retrospective of memories and insights on NEARA’s evolution.

 

Sunday April 25

 

9:00 am  Field Trip led by Rick Lynch and Margaret Venator: Several stone chambers, a large dolmen and “Druid’s Hill.”  (See details here.)

Special Field Trips

Friday, April 23rd: Dennis Stone will guide NEARA members on a tour of America’s Stonehenge, formerly known as Mystery Hill.  We will meet at the museum at America’s Stonehenge at 12:00 noon.  We will tour t