Tag: Ancient sites in New England

The Oracle’s Chamber & the Stone of Sacrifice: Part 4 of my visit to America’s Stonehenge #traveladventures #sacredsites #ancientsites #americasstonehenge

On By Alethea KehasIn Memoir, Travel Adventures13 Comments

Continued from part 3…

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This curious serpentine slab above the wall faces west toward the “V” Hut

From the “V” Hut we began to move into the disturbed remains of the Pattee Area of America’s Stonehenge. Passing from the west, the place of the womb-like chamber of the V-Hut where water seems to collect intentionally before it is diverted through channels, the three of us followed the East-West Chamber east.

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I believe this is part of the restored wall of the East-West Chamber, but I did not get the site number in the photograph for confirmation.

I think this was around the time I grabbed my granola bar from my bag and started shoveling it into my mouth. Grounding was needed after the experience at the “V” Hut and I was not feeling wholly myself. We were now heading to the most controversial area of the site, the Oracle’s Chamber, which runs alongside and beneath the 4.5-ton slab of stone called the Sacrificial Table.

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En route to the chamber. There are several areas that are enclosed by chains, but the majority is accessible to visitors.

According to the Tour Guide Map, there may once have been two chambers here. Radiocarbon dating performed in this area of the site indicate that part of it is as old as 4,000 years. Unfortunately, much of what was once here can only be surmised. There are chiseled holes that may have held the posts of tents in the large open area where no structures remain aside from a small slab that might have been a seat.

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The stone-faced open area with channels and holes of unknown origin/cause believed to be post-holes for wooden beams and channels to divert the flow of water.

Walking along the upper edge of this rock face, you pass the Sundeck Chamber, which shows signs of having been altered over time. It is worth noting that all chambers aside from the East-West chamber on Mystery Hill face south.

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The Sundeck Chamber with my family above in April 2014

Some people believe this area of the site that we are now approaching resembles the oracle chambers found in ancient Greece and Egypt. Having yet to visitor these lands, I cannot lend my opinion on this, I can only tell you what I experienced during my visit. Others more skeptical of the age of America’s Stonehenge believe Pattee constructed these stone chambers for storage, hoisted the 4.5-ton slab onto its platform, and drilled a moat around its perimeter to make soap.

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As you approach the entrance to the Oracle Chamber, you get a glimpse of the sacrificial table behind the chainlinks.

There are some impressive stones in this area, as you can see from the above photograph. The stones in the walls may have been moved several times by hands over the course of many years, but the more massive stones have the feeling of permanence to them. I was both eager and apprehensive to be entering the chamber that stood before me. The sun was searing my skin, though, and while my companions Deb and Sophia studied the map and the stones before the enclosure, I ducked my head inside.

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My husband standing at the entrance to the Oracle Chamber (but facing toward the sacrificial table) during our 2014 visit.

Just in time, it seems, to see the chipmunk scurrying out the other end. My faithful guide once again steering my feet and directing my eyes.  It’s now time to go inward with me for the next part of the journey, into the narrow opening that awaits. In the above photograph, you can see the Chamber marked 28-A, walled by stone and covered by earth.

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The entrance to the Oracle Chamber at America’s Stonehenge

It is dark and cool inside the passageway, and the eyes take a moment to adjust after leaving the sunlight. No longer used by humans, small animals and birds find refuge here.

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A bird’s nest inside the Oracle’s Chamber. All photographs were taken with a flash, giving the deception of much more light than there actually is inside the dark chamber.

Although the chamber is not large, like the ones it may be modeled after in other parts of the world, there are places that draw the eye and make one think of what might have been. This is where the Running Deer Carving exists, chiseled into a side wall.

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The Ibex inside the Oracle’s Chamber

There are also niches and shelves…

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A rectangular niche inside the chamber can be seen at the end of this walkway.

A carved bench in a rock estimated to weigh 45 tons can be seen in the left foreground of the above photograph, where up to three adults can sit in wait outside the area that houses the “Secret Bed.”

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Across from the seat, there is a closet with a 21 ton stone below it. I’m not sure I took the best photograph, but it is marked here.

Sophia and I sat on the damp stone of the seat while Deb read from the Trail Map. I was seated right outside the entrance to the Secret Bed, and while Deb read, my eyes wandered to the dark tunnel within.

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“C” marks the entrance to the Secret Bed, which is a “niche large enough for a person to crawl into and be completely hidden,” according to the Trail Map.

I’m not sure how much I listened to Deb’s words as I turned away and peered into the tunnel. An overwhelming impulse to crawl inside consumed me, and I found myself grappling with reason. Don’t be silly, who knows what you’ll find inside, my logical brain told my illogical longing. The area did, in fact, look just large enough to hold my form lying down, but I knew the rocks would be even damper than the one upon which I sat.

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Looking into the Secret Bedchamber: The photograph was taken with a flash, like the others, and it is much darker than it appears here. All you can clearly see with your naked eyes are the two slits of light.

Visions began to play inside of my mind as I peered into the small tunnel. A pair of eyes peered back at me, the only light in the darkness before me. Inside my mind, I saw the table above the eyes covered by a sacrifice. I saw blood dripping through the eyeholes and collecting into a mouth open to receive as its body lay supine, listening without seeing.

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The Sacrificial Chamber: I’ve marked with a speech bubble where I think the speaking tube hole may be. The Secret Bed is just beneath it.

I don’t remember Deb reading these words, which are written in the Trail Map: “D) Speaking Tube. Words spoken through this stone-lined tube [the Secret Bed] exit under the Sacrificial Table (#31), outside the chamber, and give the impression that the table is talking — hence the term ‘Oracle.’ This small tunnel was found blocked at both ends with small stones.” I can’t tell you with certainty where this speaking tube is, as I was lost in my vision for most of our time in the Chamber.

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I found this photograph in my collection taken inside the Oracle Chamber. It may be in the area of the speaking tube, but I can’t be sure.

We probably spent no more than ten minutes inside the Oracle’s Chamber, and they were not wholly comfortable minutes. Although I had that eerie, nearly irresistible impulse to climb into the Secret Bed, I was also eager to walk back out into the sunlight. Even if it was blistering hot.

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The view from the ramp leading away from the Chamber: You can see the Table flanked by standing stones. There are more larger stones littering the area, making it difficult to know what it once looked like.
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This photograph taken, in April 2014, offers a wider view of this area. According to the Trail Map, #29 marks the “Exit to Ramp Drain. This is another stone-on-stone constructed drain; part of a series which begins near the “V” Hut, exits here and extends to the north of the Sacrificial Table.”

The Womb before the Chamber: Part 3 of my visit to America’s Stonehenge #americasstonehenge #ancientsites #sacredsites #traveladventures #dragonlines #dragonstones #mysteryhill

On By Alethea KehasIn Travel Adventures19 Comments

Please click on the highlighted text to read Part 1 & Part 2

It was hot last Wednesday, and humid, with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. My body does not like this type of weather, and I was quite uncomfortable at times walking the Mystery Hill, especially once we reached the top and shade was hard to come by. As I mentioned in my second post, we took the marked trail clockwise up the hill. During our ascent I noticed the curious walls of stone that always seemed to end with larger rocks bearing striking resemblances to the heads of serpents or dragons. Walls that curved inwards and outwards. Although the heat could have been a factor, there was a distinct feeling of being tested throughout my time here. As though my cells were being called to shed and be reborn.

These types of places tend to test, calling their visitors to pull the inner out to be processed. I felt this even more acutely later on as I gazed upon the curious rocks below that were found in one of the stone walls. One face seemed to pull me to the right, while a smaller rock on its back pulled to the left. It made me think of the circle around the hill, and how I had wanted to walk counter-clockwise…

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This stonewall, leading to the Astronomical Trail, contained an interesting hybrid rock, the bottom “being” seemed to pull in one direction, while the top, in the other.

A small south-facing stone chamber sits at the area below the site that is now referred to as the Pattee Area of America’s Stonehenge. Above its earthen roof, lilacs, presumably planted by the Pattees, bloom in May. It’s difficult to know what the original structure looked like, as it has been rebuilt over the years, or what it was used for. It is one of several cave-like enclosures of various sizes on the hill. Tucked into the body of Earth, it has the feel of a place where one could hibernate to await the rebirth of spring.

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The South-facing Chamber. The photo was taken during my April 2014 visit.

A well-like structure sits nearby, just to the upper right of the chamber. Its opening is covered in a wire mesh, and for a few feet in depth the unaided eyes can see a descending cylinder formed by stones. To the right of the south-facing chamber, the remnants of a stone wall that aligns with the true north-south axis leads up the hill a short way toward the central site.

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A stone wall on the true north-south axis leads up the hill. You’ll note the more modern fencing cutting through it.

To the left of the well there is an area referred to as “The Pulpit,” which is speculated to have been used in more modern times as a loading dock for quarrying stones. Nearby, and further to the left, a large stone slab with a 90-degree hole chiseled through it can be found. A remarkable feat even by modern standards.  The ground turns to stone ledge here, and there are many areas marked with white paint, speculated to be chiseled channels for tool sharpening and to direct the flow of water (or perhaps other liquids…)

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A passage for water has a distinct vulva-like shape as noted by Deb. It exists nearby the Mensal Stone and the V-Hut

I am not altogether surprised I did not take many photos of this particular area of the site. By the time I reached the Mensal Stone, en route to the V-Stone, my inner sight had begun to pass me through time.

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The “Mensal” stone is a 6-8 ton slab tucked into rocks.

I was present, but not wholly present, as the three of us approached the womb and joined hands.

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The “V Hut.” There is no explanation in the brochure for this structure, which I refer to as “The Womb”…

I can recall Deb remarking about angles and wondering why the lines needed to be drawn straight into a point when we arrived at this mysterious structure…the dropping of items we had brought beside our feet…and my voice rambling words to describe a landscape that only partially remained around us…

I saw serpents in the living stone surrounding the hillside, drawing the fire inward and outward, swirling the waters within. I could feel it building inside of me, cooling the water in an alchemical dance of convergence at the womb where one enters to be reborn. I could feel the elements surging through the rock upon which I stood, rising through the soles of my feet and out through my pores which had opened to receive. Every hair on my body was standing on end. “Look,” I told Deb and Sophia, as I stretched out my arms.

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We knew, as we stood before this distinctly feminine structure,  we had found the place where we were meant to gather. Three women stopping to be present with the land while the sun burned down upon us as we formed a trinity of hands. A triangle of energy like the one before us, drawing the sacred feminine to meet the dragon’s fire as it entered the V…

To be continued…

The Chimpmunk & the Serpent: Part 2 of my visit to America’s Stonehenge #americasstonehenge #ancientsites #sacredsites #chipmunkmessenger #serpentstones

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Gaia & Elementals, Travel Adventures14 Comments

Continued from Part 1…

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My body wanted to follow a path that wasn’t there. The arrows pointed left, while an invisible rope of energy tugged my heart to the right. I resisted the pull. If I had been alone, I would have followed the illogical urgings of the heart, but I was not. Deb and I had arrived without preconceived plans, but Sophia had brought her drum and offerings, and we both wanted to honor her intentions (I later learned Deb also had an impulse to walk a counter-clockwise path) so we followed Sophia’s lead along the marked path.

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A rather blurred photo of our small guide in the fork of a tree that guides the eye to a wall of (serpent) stone

She was, though, not our only guide. I noticed the chipmunk around the same time I noticed the serpents. Our tiny guide appeared throughout our journey at the spots that wanted to be noticed. There are walls of rocks that curve the hill of mysteries. Stonewalls not unlike those that cover the New England landscape, but there are differences. I noticed a pattern before we reached the top. Sinuous forms leading to large headstones with the faces of serpents. Many of them double-lined stone walls, processional walkways that seemed to guide the walker. The turn of a face at their ends, directing the gaze, the feet, the energy…I recognized these forms. I knew the energy that ran beneath them. Magic stirred within me as I looked at my furry guide who reminded me of another type of place. I began to think of the Eye, of Egypt, as well as that ancient land of Albion…I was beginning to feel like there was something here, after all, that connected a long-forgotten time.

Sophia had mentioned there being an Eye in the rock somewhere on the site before our visit…but the connections needed to form within me. The stirrings of latent energy I was not sure still if ever, existed here.The energy that effortlessly finds me on that island across the ocean, but feels so much more hidden here.

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A rather large serpent stone wedged between the trees marks the end of a wall of stone. Its open mouth and watchful eye have a distinctive dragon-like quality.

The serpent stones seemed undeniable. Sophia and Deb could see them just as easily as I, once I made the connection. Three crazy ladies, maybe, but something told me we were not. There were just too many signs that pointed us to something that felt like Truth. Could it be that there was serpent energy here on the top of a rather inconspicuous hill in New Hampshire? Is there, in fact, a connection to the ancient sites across the globe, which seem to share this universal, ancient symbol, which evokes the “dragon” lines of energy that weave the body of Earth?

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A pair of rather curious rocks following the path of the arrow

I could feel the familiar stirrings growing within. And, there was that curious guide of ours, popping up in just the right places to draw the eye. As I mentioned before, in many ways the walls look like ordinary walls, and, sadly, the walls of Mystery Hill in Salem, NH, show the marks of time. The bodies of stone collapsed and sunk into shadows of what must have been their original forms, marking possible boundaries, or something else. Not often, though, do you find these double walls of stone in this part of the world, harkening the processional walkways of ancient sites in other lands, nor do you find the marked endings with large, curiously shaped boulders, or the large, shaped, and seemingly deliberately placed standing stones in the middle of stone walls here, which mark seasonal paths of celestial bodies. Our guide seemed to indicate there was, in fact, something more magical than a farmer’s boundary happening here among the stones.

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Our small guide atop an unusual stone in the wall that corresponds with the seasonal path of either the sun or the moon (I can’t now recall where this stone is placed within the site)

Everywhere we looked, it seemed, there was something deeper, partially hidden and waiting to be found. Trees atop mounded earth and stone, curved, as Deb noted, in  alignment, besides their perfectly erect companions.

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This curious area had the feel of a vortex. Note the two dancing trees between the straight bodies of their companions, all atop a mound of earth and stone.

To be continued…

I discovered a wonderful post by Flowing Water Shamanism on the symbolism of chipmunk here for those interested in reading about it. 

I Visit America’s Stonehenge (again). A Hill Filled with Mysteries: Part 1 #americasstonehenge #mysteryhill #ancientsites #sacredsites

On By Alethea KehasIn Gaia & Elementals, Travel Adventures13 Comments

It had been four years and five months since I visited Mystery Hill in Salem, NH with my family to see America’s Stonehenge. In the time between my two visits, I would make three trips to England, traveling to the original Stonehenge, as well as several other ancients sites.  A lot has happened in those four years and five months, no wonder I thought more time had elapsed.

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The original Stonehenge in England, which is thought to be about 5,000 years old. This photo was taken in April 2016 during my visit. There is little resemblance to America’s Stonehenge.

Back in April of 2014, we were visiting the site with my sister and her family, and our four combined kids were more interested in climbing the boulders and chasing each other than searching for ancient signs and symbols, but magic was still afoot. It always seems to be at these ancient places…you just have to be aware of it.

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The kids atop boulders at America’s Stonehenge

While walking through the Visitor’s Center at the start of our visit, I admired the selenite pillars and remarked that I might purchase one on our way out. After watching the brief introductory video, we made our way outside to begin our journey at the Kids’ Gemstone Dig. Approximately two minutes into the dig, a large, rather dingy looking selenite wand appeared in daughter’s hands. Spurred on by the promise of a much larger reward than expected, three more sets of small hands began digging enthusiastically in the sand. Alas, only small polished stones appeared.

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What my daughter found alongside stones similar to what else was recovered by the kids’ efforts.

It seemed more than a coincidence…the talk of wanting a selenite wand, and within minutes having my daughter dig one up where there wasn’t supposed to be one…Later, while we were investigating the cave-like enclosures of rocks, a mysterious want of light appeared on the floor of one, where no light should have been. It looked, I thought, rather like the wand my daughter had dug up.

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This mysterious crystalline light appeared in one of the cave-like structures during our 2014 visit to America’s Stonehenge.

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Despite these mysterious occurrences, I found I was disappointed by the site. I think many people are. It really looks nothing like its namesake, at least on the surface, and although I hadn’t yet been to the original Stonehenge, I had certainly seen photographs.

The landscape at America’s Stonehenge is wooded and rocky, typical of New England, and the main attraction, when you reach it, is hidden from a distance and much, much, smaller than the megalithic structure across the pond. Yet there are similarities, more than at first meets the eye, to the original and to the many other mysterious, ancient sites across the globe.

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Astronomically aligned stones surround the distant perimeter of the hill. One of which aligns with a stone circle (which we somehow missed as we did not have time to explore the entire perimeter).

If you feel into the site, you will likely either notice a quiet peace, or a stirring of magic long forgotten. The effect is not as strong as being among the megaliths in England, but both sites wear the effects of footsteps and hands. The original structures have been altered by the imprints of humans. The energy that feels like magic dampened as though sunk deep within the body of Earth, waiting to be stirred back to life…

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What the central area of the site, now referred to as the Pattee area, looks like from the viewing platform on Mystery Hill.

Studies performed with radiocarbon dating show evidence that the site in Salem, New Hampshire is as old as 2000 B.C., but there have been many inhabitants since this time. Native American artifacts have been found in the area, including remnants of canoes and a 2000-year-old wigwam, as well as several stones that resemble animals (I will have to look for these during a future trip, as we were more focused on other things and found only one or two).

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The Ibex, or Running Dear carving, outlined with white paint, can be seen in the area that leads to the Oracle Chamber.

In 1825, a man named Jonathan Pattee took up residence on Mystery Hill. Why he claimed this spot for his homestead is still up for debate, but it is indisputable that he left his mark. One can only guess at what the site looked like before Pattee decided to make it his homestead. Many stones were altered and repurposed by his hands, some of which were used to create his fireplace, others part of his foundation and storage caves. There are some people who believe the entire area was created by Pattee. This seems highly unlikely when you realize the scope of the site, which extends far beyond his homestead area to include standing stones aligned with lunar and solar events that occurred approximately 4,000 years ago. Why Pattee would configure stones into an oracle chamber resembling those in Egypt and Greece seems rather odd as well, not to mention balancing a 4.5 ton slab above it to manufacture soap…but more on that later. It seems odd, in general, that he would choose this place for his home. I can only imagine what he would have seen if he allowed himself to.

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Inside the Oracle’s Chamber at America’s Stonehenge. April 2014

Whatever that might have been, we were here to find out. Three middle-aged women on a mission, carrying offerings for the ancestors and fey folk, a drum, water, and open minds. It happened to be a very hot, humid day for September, and we had only a few hours. We debated whether to watch the introductory video after spending several minutes surveying the artifacts in the visitor’s center. When we stepped into the auditorium, the movie was just finishing its cycle, but we were there just in time to catch words that spoke about America’s Stonehenge being on a line that connects it to Stonehenge in England and extends down to Newport’s Tower. I wasn’t even thinking about dragons until I stepped outside…

To be continued…