Monday, October 05, 2009

Wolf Pits

Norman Muller writes:In Lynn Woods (MA) there are two stone-lined pits in the ground that for centuries have been called wolf pits. According to legend, early colonists constructed these to trap wolves. Reading Jim’s letter [click here] to the MHC and his numerous references to stone sweat lodges and pits, now I’m wondering if these wolf pits might have been Indian barnes instead.

He continues:
Some discussion on the function of the “wolf pits.” Note that toward the end, the idea that these represent storage pits for food, such as a root cellar. But then the person points out that no house foundations are nearby.

http://www.flw.org/landmarks.html

3 comments :

JimP said...

I think you are correct, Norman. These make much more sense as Indian caches or barns.

Anonymous said...

They've been dug out and reconstructed. May not be in original form. Also, they are possibly 8+ feet deep and roughly 2feet wide by 5 feet long. Not sure how deep they really go as they tend to collect a lot of leaves and dirt. They've been slowly filling back in and are tending to collapse back in on themselves. They also are in line with a pass in Bow Ridge that could serve as a natural animal trail.

SpringPondWoods said...

I've read in the diaries of William Bentley, holes like these that resembled wells, were found to be an ancient grave stone in Salem of a Native American.