Rediscovering Kequasagansett 5

Possible Sacred Stone and Water Works Around Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts

Short stone rows rise and twist up and out of the wetlands north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Up & Out of the Wetlands

There are stone rows involved with the waterworks north of Gates Pond, some of them rising directly out of the ditches, some of them perhaps part of the ditches, possibly, at some point.

These rise up on the back corner, the north and western-most corner of the waterworks. Out from these, one large stone row of massive stones heads out and up and over the hill. The massive stone row, eventually reaches an array of summit stones, and some other finds on the north-easternmost hilltop of Sawyer Hill.

A Serpentine Stone Row Rises in the Wetlands north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

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It can be confusing — this entire series of hills that circle the north and west sides of Gates Pond are called, in the singular, Sawyer Hill. I've shared a larger USGS Map of the area to show this, and another, cropped part of that map for detail of the hill I'm covering.

Left: USGS Map of Gates Pond and Sawyer Hill in Berlin, Massachusetts. Right: Cropped Detail of the Map. Map Credit: United States Geological Survey. Additional illustration by Mike Luoma.

On the detail map, the light green circle shows a field of interesting stone features gathered around the summit of the hill, the darker circle to the south encircles the area of these water walls. The burnt orange line is the massive stone row which runs from the wetlands and up and over the northernmost Sawyer Hill.

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There are possible effigy forms in these swampy stone rows. Often, the effigies are serpent forms. Take a look at the outlined example I’ve shared.

Stone Row north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts (left). Note how the outlined stones in the stone row (center) resemble the scales of the Snake’s Head in the illustration (right). Photo and Photo Illustration by Mike Luoma. Snake Head Illustration: Public Domain.

One note — the large round stone may not be intended to be the eye of the Serpent, but could instead be an egg in the Serpent’s Mouth, with the smaller round stone to the left meant to represent the actual eye.

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Before we look at more of the stone rows, let me share a page from my notebook on what it is I look for in the stonework in terms of identifying possible Indigenous forms.

Illustration by Mike Luoma.

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Maybe you can spot the signs in some of these wetland stone rows:

Surrounded Rhombus in a Wetland Stone Row north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Possible Manitou Stone in front of a wetland stone row north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Note the Non-Traditional coursework in this stone row as it undulates out of the wetlands north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

Stone Row descending into a Waterway or Ditch in the wetlands north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

The Stones Seem to Radiate Out from the Center of this very short stone row, next to the wetlands north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

The wetland beginnings of a lengthy stone row which runs roughly north/south up Sawyer Hill, north of Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts. Photo by Mike Luoma.

While these wetland walls aren’t very long, for the most part, and surround somewhat small areas when they seem to have a practical function at all, one of the stone rows separates itself from the others and storms north all the way up Sawyer Hill, splitting the hilltop in half.

As the stonework on top of the hill grows more intriguing, so does the make-up of that singular stone row as it crests the hilltop and slithers down the northern slope. We’ll look at it next.

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Next: One Massive Stone Row