Petroglyphs at America's Stonehenge - Salem, NH - Pictographs on Waymarking.com

In Salem, New Hampshire, on a low rise called Mystery Hill, that has been the location of a variety of human activity, and is where a few petroglyphs have been found.

One petroglyph found remains embedded in a rock within the site's feature named the "Oracle Chamber." It is a simple drawing of a deer - sometimes also called "the Ibex" though that kind of animal does not exist on this continent. The deer has a white circle around it for people to see easier. Other marks have been removed and placed in cases within the place's visitor center. There are plaster casts made and painted on to make the marks easier to see, with interpretations given nearby. Some of the carvings have been interpreted to be rhunes or Celtic symbols, or Native American Indian carvings. To me, some of the features were very hard to see.

Since the 1930s, features have been identified as being part of an astronomical observatory where stones have been placed so that an observer at a central point could view sunrises and sunsets such as for the winter and summer solstice, and other dates like November 1 and May 1. The site has had archeological digs several times. Carbon-dating tests on objects or on items found nearby have indicated that some parts of the site are 4,000 years old, and, thus, the site is generally thought to be at least that old. The place, however, has been disturbed by more recent activity, including quarrying activity (there is evidence of drill holes and booms), residence activity (there is a house foundation), and previous investigation activity that was not especially careful. Thus, there is a lot of uncertainty in what has been found at the site, and the original builders, who may have been an earlier era Native American Indian tribe or Celtics that landed in the region, may never be known for sure.

America's Stonehenge is located on Haverhill Road in Salem, New Hampshire. Follow the directions given by the web site,
(visit link) .
There is a fee to see the observation site, but you can see the petroglyphs in the cases without paying the fee.

Type of Pictograph: Petroglyph

Visit Instructions:
1. You may log as many different waymarks as you wish but you may only log each one once.

2. You must include a close up photo of the pictograph and your GPSr. The pictograph must be recognizable.

3. Tell a little bit about what you learned of the area.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/03/2012 Skyecat visited it