Stone Prayers On A Maine Mountainside
First Look At A Recently Discovered Potential Ceremonial Stone Landscape
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“You’re one of the first people up here!”
As we climbed off the 4-Wheelers we’d ridden up to the site, the landholder let me know just how special my visit was. “Up here” was up, indeed — high up on a southeastern facing mountainside slope in Western Maine, where the landholder discovered odd stone assemblages on their mountain property.
As they sought out explanations for the stonework, they came across my Ancient Stone Mysteries of New England Facebook Group and YouTube video presentations and reached out for more information on what they had been finding. Since then, I’ve been helping them assess the stonework via messages, pictures, and video. And in mid-May 2022, at their invitation, I made a trek to the mountain to see the stonework for myself.
The landholder has also reached out to local and tribal archaeologists and authorities and several seasoned experts on this sort of sacred stonework. Discovering the site’s potential as an Indigenous Ceremonial Stone Landscape has led to a meticulous recovery process. The landholder is now working with these experts to assess the site and carefully expose the stonework, to reveal possible stone prayers covered by centuries of forest duff and dirt. They take their responsibilities as steward of this place very seriously.
It’s an honor to be asked to come visit and tour this newly discovered, potentially sacred space. And a privilege to be able to share some of the first public images of the stonework.
It was also a bit of an adventure! We bounced up miles of gravel and dirt mountain roads to the remote location, traveling in the former domain of the paper company logging skidders that once roamed these slopes, before the land was subdivided and sold in the modern era. The trees of these mountains were harvested for paper. No settlers…
