A Split-Filled Rock Near Richmond
Possibly Sacred Stonework In A Mountain Hollow Between Streams
As I continue exploring a Hollow near Richmond, Vermont and continue to see more stonework, I’m drawn back to the possible Stone Prayers I found there on my first visit. Well, to be clear, I didn’t find them initially, I was tipped to where they were by YouTube viewer Michelle S., who provided me with directions to the site. But before going on to see more of this very curious Hollow, it seems proper to pay my respects to this first group of potential Stone Prayers.
Walking up into the space, a gentle northwest facing slope between two mountain streams, I was greeted by the sight of a Split-Filled Boulder. This initial stone feature seemed to signal that there were indeed possible Stone Prayers to be found here. And there were…
Split-Filled Boulders or Rocks — two halves of formerly the same stone, or two rocks which appear to be two halves, with the space between them filled by cobbles and other small stones — are often found as part of what appear to be Indigenous Ceremonial Stone Landscapes in the Northeast.
A little background…
Peter Waksman, Phd. has investigated Indigenous Stone Prayers since the 1990s and runs the essential Rock Piles blog which has chronicled this work since 2006. He released the book A Shadow Under The Rock (2023) last year, and writes:
Split Rocks
Boulders which are divided by a deep split. I spent a long time trying to interpret them, so here goes: One reads that Native Americans considered boulders to be “grandfathers” and that every rock contained a spirit. If that is so, then a split boulder is very significant, as the split creates a doorway between the outer world and the inner spirit of the rock. If it is a bad spirit, you want to wall it away, filling the split with lots of smaller rocks, and keeping the spirit trapped inside. If it is a spirit you want to control and communicate with, then a removable stopper — in the form of a single, smaller rock — is inserted into the split. Very rarely, when it is a helpful and benevolent spirit, a quartz stopper is inserted in the split, to amplify the spirit’s access to the outer world… a split that is filled with smaller rocks is called “split filled” and a split that is filled with one smaller rock is called “split-wedged”. (p.201)
Investigator Markham Starr calls these Infilled Boulders in his Ceremonial Stonework (2016):
“I am told these splits may represent earth entrances through which spirits pass from one world… to another. In some cases, the split in the boulder is held apart with multiple stones… …in many cases, the makeup of a stone placed into a split boulder or found wedged deep into crevices is, once again, quartz… …stoneworkers often filled the entire split with rocks. In many cases, the stones fill the gap entirely to the point of overflowing, while in others, the void is filled to the top. While wedged and infilled boulders seem related, single stones jammed into split materials give the appearance of holding gaps open, whereas infill work certainly seems meant to close the fracture entirely…” (p.19)
In Split Stones & The Underworld (2022), researcher Mary Gage writes:
Split stone spirit portals are most often associated with the Underworld but sometimes with spirits living within the rock. Underworld and the spirits associated with it were as diverse as the split stone structures as seen in the historical accounts. Diversity was found to be prevalent and useful in analyzing and reading these structures that are common at CSL sites throughout the Northeastern United States…
…the diverse use of the split stone as a ceremonial structure …ranges from the common split stone cairn found at many Ceremonial Stone Landscape (CSL) sites to its incorporation within complex structures and/or units of structures. In general a split in a stone that has been altered or integrated into a structure and/or unit shows it was utilized as a spirit portal. The spirit portal concept comes from numerous historical and anthropological accounts… a mix of spirits used the spirit portals such as the spirits of people alive and dead, Sun, Serpent, Guardian Spirit of Underworld, Little People, fish, animals like Moose and Blessed Manitou, the latter acquired from Christian beliefs. It was a complex belief system with one thing in common Underworld and Upperworld each had malevolent and benevolent spirits…Split stones documented by the author… show diversity and at the same time a single common belief. The common belief is a split in a stone is a spirit portal. Diversity shows up in how the spirit portal was utilized. (Abstract/Introduction)
In this case, I’m not sure I’m in any position to guess what spirits are involved here.
There are still stones on top and filling one side, but the lower part of the other side now stands open. Was this always open? Can we know?
The stones on the top seem arranged in a pattern, one whose significance escapes me thus far, though admittedly the curves and potential designs intuitively suggest the sacred feminine. I might sketch this out to see what I can grasp.
The front or lower side of the split-stone is curiously shaped, the center protruding but with the lower part on either side seemingly recessed.
Video can sometimes help give a better sense of an object:
As a thank you to those of you who are paid subscribers, I have a much longer (4:30) version of the video you can watch below.
The ground behind the entire assemblage appears built up, so this split rock could be on bedrock or even be part of a low outcrop. Or soil could have simply built up over time on that uphill side.
I will continue to revisit this Split-Filled Boulder and the other Possible Stone Prayers in this Hollow, both out of respect and because I seem to notice something new each time I visit. And I plan to continue to share what I find with you in this Newsletter.
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