Walking in So Many Others’ Footsteps…
Returning to A Stone Site in Jericho, Vermont
As a stone site investigator in New England, based in Burlington, Vermont, it’s of note that, even as it’s beginning to be recognized in other places, we haven’t heard a lot about ancient, possibly Indigenous stonework in Northwestern Vermont over the years.
Does that mean there’s little to be found?
Not necessarily.
There may be more than we know, unreported. Or not yet even found. A few factors seem to have combined to keep reported sites in the region to a minimum: Given early amateur researchers’ focus on stone chambers — and an apparent lack of them in northwestern Vermont — the Stone Chambers in Southern Vermont attracted most of the attention given to ancient stonework in the state in the past.
The incredible, yet once commonly held belief that “No Indians ever lived in Vermont” also likely dampened interest in Indigenous stonework. And still-held mistaken beliefs, such as “there are no stone walls in the Champlain Valley” may also quell enthusiasm for searching them out.
