Saturday, September 3, 2011

By a River in Northern Rhode Island...

Welcome to SecretLandscapes.  You may know me from Larry Harrop's blog as "Catherine from Johnston".  These posts of photographs of stone structures, bent trees, and cultural items are intended as possible interpretations of the original use of the sites.  Where useful, I include my own artwork.  These landscape paintings  are based on GPS waypoints and photographs, and show how sites might look without excessive trees, trash, or modern development. 
Without any further ado, here is one of my favorite sites.  This large structure faces South towards a small river, and  consists of large stone slabs stacked  under a huge manitou-shaped slab. There is a smaller manitou at the front center of the structure.

One of the slabs forms a small chamber, seen at lower right.


A view of the whole structure from one end.

     Behind the structure, a 5-foot tall manitou stands.  There is also a small cairn behind the structure.
I think this large structure was constructed, and is not just a collection of fallen slabs.  Here is a similar site in the same area, for comparison. Note how this outcrop has the same pointed shape, and the fallen slabs are parallel to the outcrop, and not perpendicular.   The manitou imagery and small chamber in the riverside structure suggest some religious purpose.
     Here is my reconstruction of the site, including a nearby stonerow.
This  certainly is a beautiful and imposing structure, suggesting a temple rising from the earth. 



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