A Possible Serpent Effigy Row in Lewis Hollow on Overlook Mountain in Woodstock, New York. Photo by Mike Luoma.

A Ceremonial Stone Landscape in the Catskills

The Stone Effigy Rows and Manitou Hassanash (Cairns) of Lewis Hollow

As above, so below?

In Lewis Hollow, on Overlook Mountain in Woodstock, New York, intriguing stone features rise up with the ridge. Built over areas of high groundwater permeability, some of the stone assemblages may create a petraform mirroring a constellation in the sky above. This could very well be a sacred space — a Ceremonial Stone Landscape.

Native American Ceremonial Stone Landscapes are made up of stone features usually arrayed in astronomically significant and/or aligned patterns, reaching across distances short and long.

Manitou Hassanash or Cairn in Lewis Hollow. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Clear sight lines interconnecting these prominent features of cultural significance allow for viewing of the rising and setting of the sun, moon, certain stars and constellations, and the Milky Way on significant dates.

The stoneworks are usually associated with subsurface water sources and emerging water features, like springs.

The stone rows are often serpentine and serpent-like in design.