I’m writing
to you from Wiseman’s View near Linville North Carolina, deep in the Pisgah
National Forest where I’m waiting for sundown in hopes of catching a glimpse of
the mysterious Brown Mountain lights. It’s the perfect place to reflect on
another recent journey I took to a place that harbors many ancient and peculiar
secrets.
Near the
small town of Salem New Hampshire there exists one of the most enigmatic sites
in New England, the origins and true purpose of which may never be known for
sure. While traveling in the Boston area
last month I couldn’t resist making the short 40 trip north to see it for
myself. It’s called America’s Stonehenge has been featured on such shows as America Unearthed and In Search Of. Known previously as
Mystery Hill, America’s Stonehenge is a large complex composed of buried chambers
made from quarried stone, enclosures and
standing stones placed at some very deliberate locations around the complex. The
site has continually perplexed researchers and has been the source of much
controversy and speculation.
Carbon 14
dating from features including a man-made fire pit indicates human habitation nearly
4000 years ago. While this does not provide a construction date for the entire
complex it does show that there was human activity from a very early time in
history. But possibly the most intriguing characteristics of America’s
Stonehenge are those from which it derives its name. Are you ready? The various
megaliths existing around the site are aligned with astrological events such as
the Summer Solstice Sunrise and Spring and Fall equinox sunrises as they would
have occurred around 1500 BC thus proving it was not the first Dunken Donuts.
Other
inexplicable features are present at the site. At the center of the complex,
just above the dank underground room known as the Oracle Chamber, there is a
stone table. It features a groove carved into the surface presumably to allow a
liquid to drain from the surface of the slab and into a receptacle. Was this
used as a sacrificial table as the name of the feature suggests? Standing
beside this alter deep in the woods my own dark imagination was set in motion
as I imagined blasphemous rites of unspeakable terror being performed at this
isolated monument. But I’m not alone in my thinking.
This
very location was the setting which inspired The Dunwich Horror, a story written by H.P. Lovecraft in the
1920’s.
Even more
curious is the function of the Oracle Chamber itself which seems by design to
allow sound to travel up a shaft from the underground room and project loudly
into the area of the Sacrificial Table.
There is
much speculation as to the origin of the complex. Some insist that Native
Americans are responsible. Still others point to similarities between its
construction and structures found in the British Isles. It has even been
suggested that the site was built by Irish Monks or the Phoenician culture. My
personal theory is that the site is European in origin and possibly the work of
pagan worshipers or at least non-orthodox, Christian ascetics escaping
persecution.
Whatever,
the case may be one thing is certain. The site has been heavily altered and
used for purposes ranging from a hide-out for escaped slaves to a haven for the
19th century homeless. Having been partially dismantled by previous
owners in order to sell its quarried stones, much research is still needed to
reconstruct the original form and determine the intended function of the site.
If you’re
ever in New England and looking for a unique excursion that will leave you
puzzled, I recommend a visit to this place. For more info visit: stonehengeusa.com
Semper Explorandum
