Structures and Features
America's Stonehenge is often referred to as a "reader's digest" of ancient architecture. While other ancient sites in the Northeast feature a few structures, the dense concentration of stonework at America's Stonehenge allows visitors to see a variety of chambers, standing stones, artistic walls, and other lithic monuments all in one place. The following is just a sample of what you will see at this site.
The Oracle Chamber
This large, multi-room chamber is the largest single structure remaining on the site. The Oracle Chamber is named for the speaking tube, a small opening in the wall through which someone's voice seems to rise from the ground beneath the Grooved Table - another ceremonial structure on the site. Besides the speaking tube, the Oracle Chamber contains several other unique features including several closets, a fire place, a carved stone bench, and two storm drains. The complex engineering used in this area of the site shows that the ancient builders were using advanced masonry techniques to quarry, move, and stack massive blocks of stone.
The Grooved Table
This table, connected to the Oracle Chamber via the speaking tube, is possibly the ceremonial heart of this ancient site. At nine feet in length and weighing approximately 4.5 tons, quarrying and moving this stone was no small feat, let alone setting the table atop four stacked-stone legs. The Grooved Table is oriented east to west and is flanked by two standing stones to the north and south, forming a central axis for the site. A trapezoidal groove runs around the edge of the stone, and it is theorized that liquid offerings would have been poured out on this table. Due to the prolonged exposure and weathering of the table, having been excavated in the 1930s, it is unknown exactly what offerings were placed on this table in the past.
The Watch House Chamber
This structure consists of much more than meets the eye. The Watch House Chamber is located at the head and tail of a 2,550 foot long serpent effigy made entirely of stone. The glacial boulder which forms one wall of the chamber is the head of the serpent. Its body extends around the hill, touching every astronomical alignment and encircling the Main Site, before returning to the Watch House. The serpent's tail ends just in front of its head, forming the ancient ouroboros symbol of a serpent biting its own tail. The chamber is built with its entrance facing the south east so that the rising sun illuminates a quartzite stone on the interior of the chamber during the Equinoxes.
Summer Solstice Sunrise Monolith
This stone is one of many standing stones found on the site. From the site's astronomical center, these standing stones mark the points on the horizon where important astronomical events occur - in this case, the Summer Solstice sunrise. This monolith was quarried, shaped, and moved into place in ancient times. Close analysis of the stones revealed that no metal tools were used to shape them, and excavations at the base of several standing stones found significant soil accumulation next to them, meaning that they must have been standing for thousands of years.
The S Shaped Serpent Wall
This serpent effigy is one of more than a dozen such structures found at America's Stonehenge. Serpentine effigies are found at ancient sites around the world, but are just recently being recognized in the Northeast. Stone walls built in serpentine shapes are found at ancient sites throughout the region and vary in size and shape, some only a dozen feet long, and others more than 2,000 feet in length. Serpent walls often are identified by their characteristic defined head, body, and tail sections. The S Shaped Serpent Wall has a triangular boulder as its head, a sweeping, S shaped body, and another boulder at its tail.
The Chamber in Ruins
This chamber is named for the large roof slab which, at some point in the distant past, collapsed into the chamber itself. Excavations of this structure took place between the 1950s and 2015, during which several important discoveries were made. To start, the soil within the chamber and around the roof slab was completely undisturbed, meaning that this soil had accumulated naturally over many centuries. Further excavations revealed several artifacts, including some mysteriously inscribed stones, lithic tools, and charcoal samples. These samples were dated to between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago and were discovered within the undisturbed layers of soil above the floor of the chamber, providing a convincing date for the age of this structure. Further excavations around the chamber were conducted to place wooden supports that would prevent further collapse of the walls and roof slab in this important structure.
The East West Chamber
Featuring some of the largest stonework on the Main Site, the East West chamber is an impressive sight. Early photographs of the hill, some that even predate William Goodwin's arrival and later restorations, show the East West chamber is largely intact and was not heavily restored. This original stonework gives clues to how ancient people quarried and moved these massive blocks of granite. The nearby fault line, a natural fracture in the bedrock from seismic activity, allowed the ancient builders to quarry stones more easily and move them only a short distance to this structure. To make the chamber, the large roof slabs were likely slid into place on top of the walls via the cobblestone ramp that is still in place to the north of this structure.
Windows
A relatively recent discovery at America's Stonehenge are more than two dozen "windows" - intentional openings built into the ancient stone walls. Similar windows have been found at sites throughout the Northeast and elsewhere. While their purpose is unknown, they have often been called spirit windows, soul holes, and portals, with the belief that they allowed spirits to pass through the ceremonial stone walls. Several windows at America's Stonehenge have been discovered with stone shutters, either slabs or loose cobblestones, that were possibly used to open and close the windows at specific times. The windows are not known to align with any particular astronomical events, though more survey work could reveal a pattern across the landscape.
