Have you ever heard of the 'Hammonasset Line'? If not this is a must read!

G'Day ATS,

I read about this place today and knew I had to present it to you.

In short:

The Hammonasset Line, which starts at Montauk on Long Island, goes through Connecticut and crosses over into New York State, is comprised of pre-colonial stone structures that are theorized to be many thousands of years old. Cairns can be found as well as formed Cairns, unusual walls, marking boulders and travel ways; all found along the line through many townships. The Line marks both the winter solstice sunrise and summer solstice sunset. In Connecticut, the line has been useful for predicting and locating sites where many ancient stone cairns and structure have been found.

The Hammonasset Line By Glenn Kreisberg (GrahamHancock.com)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/781c11624844.jpg[/atsimg]Burial Cairn in Madison SOURCE

Before you think it's just a couple of anomalous markings or sites my friends, think again:

During the summer solstice, a chunk of white rock in a manmade chamber on the edge of a reservoir in Madison (Connecticut, USA) is illuminated by sunlight in the shape of a dagger. In another part of town, a 7-acre parcel is filled with stone walls that align during the solstices with rocks in the shape of snakes, white quartz boulders, prayer seats and assorted cairns.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/59cb38964255.jpg[/atsimg]
Map showing the Hammonasset Line

These stone displays are among the thousands discovered by Tom Paul, a retired engineer, along what he calls the 'Hammonasset Line.' Paul believes the solar alignment runs from a Native American council rock on Long Island, across the Sound, through Madison and Killingworth, northwest through Waterbury and the Berkshires into the Catskills. He said he thinks many of the stone formations date back thousands of years and were constructed by Native Americans to mark the sunrise of winter solstice and the sunset of summer solstice.

Stone Pages: Ancient stone alignments in Connecticut?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fe09a755903d.jpg[/atsimg]Prayer seat, found slightly North of the Line

My personal favourite, a pointed marker stone found on the Hmmonasset line, which points exactly North:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/329d45aeeb75.jpg[/atsimg]

There are more images to be found HERE, on the New England Antiquities Research Association site.

The line has been theorised to be a physical marker, separating the real world from that of the spiritual.

Or, as Glenn Kreisberg writes:

I think this all plays well into the theory of my friend, NEARA member Dave Holden that the Woodstock valley was once used as a funeral zone by the Native tribes whose territorial borders shared our region and who created burial memorials placed in a systematic way along alignments. And, it might be suggested further, and the Hammonasset Line seems to support, that the ritual of burials along a line or grid of lines associated with the winter solstice sunrise and summer solstice sunset, may have been widespread and suggestive of a type of burial cult in the Northeastern United States (and perhaps further) that carried out such practices for thousands of years.

The line may have marked a burial area for local inhabitants.

Follow the links for more information on this amazing alignment. I can only hope that the evidence is brought together in the future and explored further.

All the best, Kiwi

From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

A good point.

HOWEVER... that said, the Native Americans in that area generally lived in settled villages and were not nomadic. I'm not familiar with their structures, but I know that they built a lot of buildings out of wood (not stone, though) and that sun daggers are found elsewhere.

I'm not at all convinced by the "north pointing rock" -- that looks like a glacial artifact. I'm very skeptical of the "Line" because there's no clear line of sight there. Many of the other items (the foot stone, for instance) are simply geological artifacts.

The stacked stone structures, though, are different. The problem lies in dating them. We can tell how old the rocks are but not who stacked them (were they stacked by a farmer or a religious group or the person who discovered them or someone else?) As far as I know, there aren't any artifacts associated with them (which makes them a real problem in dating. In general, a sacred site will have other dateable material with it -- offerings, burials, paint, etc.) The "prayer seat" is not a consistent idea with the religion and culture of the Native Americans of the area, but it's an odd structure and I would be interested to see if there are colonial buildings that look similar. If I lived closer, I'd love to do a dig out there.

It's an interesting find and really worth more investigation. To the best of my knowledge (I haven't done much search on this) they're not well studied, though whether this is because they were judged to be obvious frauds OR there's not enough manpower to do it isn't something I've read about.

I hope others will chime in with some of the research on these. Good find!

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

Native Americans in the Northeast were extremely proficient at farming. Their yields from small plots have not been matched by modern techniques. They would plant seemingly random groups of vegetables that complimented one another for soil conservation, sun exposure, and pest repellant. They were so adept at it, that they could plant and then abandon the area for months before returning to harvest. European settlers assumed the messy randomness of the plots was accidental, and they did not try to learn the technique, and instead they insisted on clinging to their subpar methods. Even with modern pesticides and fertilizers we have not matched the yields that natives got from the same lands.

It is possible that the Natives used the solstices as a way to mark the seasons for planting and harvesting.

Interesting topic, Kiwi!

However I'm always doubtful when claims of 'alignments' are made, given enough points you can create alignments with anything.

The 'stacked stone formations' in Madison look intriguing to say the least, but I think it's a stretch to claim this line exists, as Byrd pointed out, too many of these don't look human made. It get's far-fetched with the claim that these points on a line lead to a spot in some lake near Minnesota or a peak of the Catskills, highly dubious. Of course, Hancock has to jump in there with his theories...

State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni said Paul's idea of a "Hammonasset Line" is "very interesting," but more research is needed.

"A lot more testing is going to have to be done in development of the theory of a 'line,' " he said. "One test might be the development of other 'lines.' With so many glacial erratics, walls, surface stones, etc., on our landscape, would other 'lines' yield a similar pattern? Or, is the 'Hammonasset Line' unique?"

"Also," he added, "what need would Native Americans have for such a 'line' in their traditional cultures?" -source

I think they need to eliminate the possibility of early settlers creating stone cairns as land claims.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

That is a stereotype far from any sort of reality, a hold-over from colonial prejudices.

Originally posted by WingedBull

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

That is a stereotype far from any sort of reality, a hold-over from colonial prejudices.

So, we have evidence of farming?

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Yes. Lots and lots of it. Europeans didn't recognize it as "farming" but that is what they were doing. They would plant small plots of mixed varieties and then abandon them, and then return later to harvest. It was a very common practice, and they supported many more people per acre than what Europeans were able to do.

We studied this in depth in a couple of Religion and History courses. There is a book called something like "Looking East." I will search for it. American History from the perspective of Native Americans is drastically different than what is taught in school.

Edit to Add:
"Facing East from Indian Country"

There are other accounts, I will keep searching.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


www.native-languages.org...

Farming was another very important source of American Indian food materials. Native agriculture was most advanced in what is now the southern United States, Mexico, and the Andean region of South America. Native Americans from those areas used special farming techniques like irrigation, terracing, crop rotation, and planting windbreaks to improve their farms, and they usually harvested enough crops to dry and store for the winter. Some examples of southern Native American tribes who were expert farmers included the Hopi, Navajo, and Cherokee tribes. Other tribes further to the north planted crops in garden plots in their villages but did not harvest enough to last the winter, so they would split up into hunting camps during that time instead. Examples of northern tribes who farmed this way included the Lenape and Iroquois tribes. Besides food crops, Native American farmers often grew cotton, hemp, tobacco, and medicinal plants.

The Iroquis mentioned toward the end were from the Northeast. I'm still searching. As the exert says, they did not survive all winter off the plots, instead they would plant, and then move about hunting, and then return to harvest later. It was a way to supplement their hunting and gathering.


www2.kenyon.edu...

Before the arrival of white settlers, the only tools which the Indians of this area had were stone hatchets, pointed sticks, and bone shovels and hoes. After the settlers arrived, Indian agricultural began to change. The Ohio Indians of the 1700's combined methods of the Adena Indians with new methods which were influenced by white settlers. The Ohio Indians planted corn, their largest crop, in May. They would first soak the kernels in water and then plant them in holes three or four feet apart. Ohio Indians also relied on beans, nuts, and wild fruits for their diet. The Indian tribes would abandon their land every five or ten years, despite the difficulty of clearing new land, because they believed that overusing the land would ruin the soil. This method may have been the first form of rotational farming in the area.

Just a couple of quick searches turned up those links. Its been a long time since college, but we focused on this aspect of Native American life for several weeks. They were very proficient at utilizing the land. Some of the "sacred" lands that Europeans attributed to religious doctrines, were actually sacred for practical reasons like seasonal floods, proximity to resources, and landmarks that were key to their cultural routines. It was a sophisticated system that was entirely dismissed and destroyed by settlers.

reply to post by getreadyalready


That is absolutely fascinating.

You don't have to sell me on the pure and utter genius of the Iriquois. They are the founders of our Republic (except we screwed up their political system by including the concept of "property").

I am more familiar with the plains indians, like the local Commanche's.

Is it possible that the Hammonasset Line is a partial Ley Line?
If so, The People that are inhabiting the area would have been informed of how "special"
the place was. I read in one of the snippets that it was considered a dividing line between
the living and dead. There must have been or still is some kind of energy coming from this area.

The rock formations also remind me of a structure called a Doleman, only smaller.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
So, we have evidence of farming?

Most definitely, as well as towns and cities. I would recommend 1491, a detailed look at the Americans before Columbus' arrival.

The book ,America B.C. , by Barry Fell , is very interesting and along the same train of thought. it is worth a read. second line

reply to post by kiwifoot


The one rock that points north and is your favorite is said to be 6 ft tall. How do you suppose they moved and placed that sucker? I know it's not a megalithic or anything but that has got to be a pretty heavy stone. Why is it that all our forefathers could move big rocks without heavy equipment but we can't? I'm jealous.

Originally posted by getreadyalready

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

Native Americans in the Northeast were extremely proficient at farming. Their yields from small plots have not been matched by modern techniques. They would plant seemingly random groups of vegetables that complimented one another for soil conservation, sun exposure, and pest repellant. They were so adept at it, that they could plant and then abandon the area for months before returning to harvest. European settlers assumed the messy randomness of the plots was accidental, and they did not try to learn the technique, and instead they insisted on clinging to their subpar methods. Even with modern pesticides and fertilizers we have not matched the yields that natives got from the same lands.

It is possible that the Natives used the solstices as a way to mark the seasons for planting and harvesting.

interesting...

you have a source for this?

what else are you going to do a thousand years ago. after you filled your belly and satisfied your woman, you might as well spend the rest of the day piling rocks.

I am happy to end my evening with this find. Thanks Kiwi for bringing this to the forum. Have you been there and did you take the Op pictures yourself? If you were there what kind of energy did you sense or feel? This is one place I would love to go check out sometime, it feels old and powerful. Maybe Reptilian hallowed ground, tunnel entrances and cave system nearby too? A good google image would be worth a look at.

reply to post by Electric Crown


I posted a couple of links and the name of one book. My original source was two college courses that I took about 10 years ago. I only remembered the name of one of the books from those courses; I think there were about 5 books that we used for the courses.

Crops Native Americans taught to Europeans
This is some more info on what the Europeans learned from the Native Americans, but I can't find a source for the techniques that the Natives used.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
From my understanding, the Amerinds were mostly hunter/gattherers, living the tribal lifestyle.

What need does a hunter/gatherer have to know the solstices?

Their rounds were dictated by the changing seasons so a knowledge of the time of year would be essential to a successful way of life.

When do you hunt deer, when do you collect berries, when do you go to fetch flint for tools? All necessary questions and determined by the time of year.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
They would plant small plots of mixed varieties and then abandon them, and then return later to harvest. It was a very common practice, and they supported many more people per acre than what Europeans were able to do.

Actually, the Iroquois would have organised corn fields that were tended by the women while the men hunted. They would live in villages supported by those fields for some 10-20 years, then move along to let the fields renew.

Originally posted by WingedBull
I would recommend 1491, a detailed look at the Americans before Columbus' arrival.

And I would recommend Hall of Maat www.hallofmaat.com... to refute that.

Originally posted by chopperswolf
The book ,America B.C. , by Barry Fell , is very interesting and along the same train of thought. it is worth a read.

Likewise, Fell is pretty easily refuted.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
So, we have evidence of farming?

Yes, in the Northeastern and northern tribes. A number of tribes (I'm most familiar with our Texan Caddoan culture) had settled villages and extensive farming plots. If you remember your old-timey "first Pilgrims" story, you remember Sqanto taught them how to plant a fish with their corn seeds to make the crop grow better.

I don't know how early the farming practices began here, but they are most often found where there are permanent settlements (I admit my total lack of knowledge about farming and the far northern cultures such as the Tlingit (Alaska).)

Wikipedia has a brief overview:
en.wikipedia.org...