Thursday, September 15, 2011

Site vandalism

The conversation about when it is OK to publicize a rock pile/stone mound site goes on and on. I want to report that yesterday I drove past the Littleton chamber on Littleton County Rd and those *$@'s have blasted away all the ledge rock nearby and shaken the chamber to the extent that it needed to be propped up. Is driving fast on that road so important? What are they thinking?

Meanwhile, I learned that my favorite mound site on Mt. Elam Rd in Leominster is being logged right up to the piles, with heavy equipment driving over stone walls and what all. Is this a good time to be turning a F'ing profit from the woods? [Again] What are they thinking?

I was re-reading notes from a conference where the Indians made very clear that public awareness was the desired way to protect piles and that, when in doubt, the sites should be made public. I am increasingly inclined to publicize all the sites. The biggest real threat comes from logging and road widening and all the unintentional destruction of woodland. Any kind of treasure hunter or new age vandal would be a small nuisance by comparison.

3 comments :

Tim MacSweeney said...

"Awareness" and protection needs to replace the "willfull ignorance" and destruction of the largest of Native American artifacts that surrounds us. 5000 year old fish weirs that resemble stone rows, linking outcrops and chambers and the possible graves/memorials, the artwork in the rock piles - all of those...

pwax said...

Yes we need some general legislation to make damaging ANY stone structure require a variance, like building near a wetland.

Chris Pittman said...

Sorry to hear about the ongoing destruction of these places. I totally agree that sites should be publicized. In many cases even the property owners themselves seem unaware of the value of these stone ruins. Continuing to keep all this information under wraps only contributes to the ignorance that allows these places to be bulldozed with impunity.