Rock Walls and Piles in deep woods of KY

[mayberry90]

Deep in the woods in Western KY, came across a strange series of rock walls and rock piles. Up a hill side where it flattens out before getting really steep. I have mapped at least 0.3 miles of these walls, some inner and outer walls and often at right angles. Usually ~3 ft high but taller in some locations, you can tell where it has fallen over time. Some areas of the wall definitely look hand stacked.

Additionally there are at least 17 rock piles, some bigger than others, usually around 4 ft high and 5-7 ft around, generally in a circular pattern. Sometimes, as in the pic attached, the largest stone is right on top of the pile, would require 2-3 men to pick up the rock in this pic.

I have no idea what this is. At first I thought it was a rock wall but the more I walked it, it became clear this is more of a complex. Generally the walls run NE-SW and E-W. The piles don't seem to be in a real orderly fashion.

Could be white farmers but some things don't add up. For example, the location is not great for farming, the ground is still absolutely filled with rocks (so if they were removing field stones they did a terrible job). I suppose could have also been loggers ~10 years ago but why would they waste their time?

I've done some googling and see that other things have been found in KY and surrounding, and I can't seem to find any consensus on this.

The last pic is of a large boulder that appears like a cube, I found it strange.

I have found several broken flint pieces at the base of the hill.

 

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[traveller777]

Welcome to Tnet. I hope your time here is rewarding. Lots of good folks here to help you.

From your pictures it looks like any hundreds and thousands of rock walls, livestock pens, and foundations found around the hills, mountains, and valleys here. But that is an opinion from the pictures you posted. More pictures with details might look different. I think simply an old homestead and maybe they did not finish removing all the rocks before they left or maybe just a place to hold livestock. If you visit the mountains down here in Tennessee and North Carolina, you will see lots of rock remnants of foundations and walls. Settlers here were from around the British Isles, and they love to use rocks for walls, etc.
Now that is my opinion from pictures. But there may be more to it, but I do not see it. Might be a good place to detect, but do not expect to find a great treasure EXECPT historical. Those people were usually dirt poor.

 

[traveller777]

Welcome to Tnet. I hope your time here is rewarding. Lots of good folks here to help you.

From your pictures it looks like any hundreds and thousands of rock walls, livestock pens, and foundations found around the hills, mountains, and valleys here. But that is an opinion from the pictures you posted. More pictures with details might look different. I think simply an old homestead and maybe they did not finish removing all the rocks before they left or maybe just a place to hold livestock. If you visit the mountains down here in Tennessee and North Carolina, you will see lots of rock remnants of foundations and walls. Settlers here were from around the British Isles, and they love to use rocks for walls, etc.
Now that is my opinion from pictures. But there may be more to it, but I do not see it. Might be a good place to detect, but do not expect to find a great treasure EXECPT historical. Those people were usually dirt poor.

Oh, by the way, sometimes remnants of rocks walls, etc. can be misleading and look mysterious. People often would carry off some of the rocks for use on projects elsewhere so it can make some strange looking piles left behind that might be hard to make sense of. There was an old homestead around here that I used to drive by years ago with some limestone rock walls remaining. The last time I was by there hardly any rocks remained. Someone had carried off for some project elsewhere.

 

[unclemac]

one way to estimate age is to look at what has grown through and around and over these rocks. For instance one of my favorite bottle dumps is UNDER a stump.

 

[traveller777]

one way to estimate age is to look at what has grown through and around and over these rocks. For instance one of my favorite bottle dumps is UNDER a stump.

Good idea. Look at the trees in pictures. A young second growth or had been a field and has been over grown with trees. I doubt anything over 90 years. Many less than that. I think a homestead late 1800s or so. But that is based on past experince and these few pictures.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Thread moved to the general forum, not Native American

 

[traveller777]

Thread moved to the general forum, not Native American

Thank you. Definitely not Native American.

 

[pepperj]

Question that begs is, did you detect it?
Looks like Traveller nailed it pretty well down on what it is.

 

[traveller777]

Question that begs is, did you detect it?
Looks like Traveller nailed it pretty well down on what it is.

Goid question, pepper. I advised that most of what would be found detecting was likely only of historical value. The homesteaders were usually dirt poor.

 

[pepperj]

Goid question, pepper. I advised that most of what would be found detecting was likely only of historical value. The homesteaders were usually dirt poor.

No trash, a few buttons and relics puts a warm feeling in the bones.

 

[traveller777]

.No trash, a few buttons and relics puts a warm feeling in the bones.

Amen brother. And one man's trash is another man's treasure. Sometimes one man's trash is another man's trash

 

[Red_desert]

The only Native American stone formations (using rows or lines of stones) in North America, is the regional stone medicine wheel. Most of them have been dismantled, highly unlikely you could find one. There have been a few large discoved by archaeologists in remote places. The regional stone wheels were so large, several Indian tribes could have a gathering together for their dances. We now call these events Powwows.

The Medicine Wheels of North America

Nearly every ancient civilization has studied the night sky, whether it was for navigation, measuring time, or spiritual purposes. The Plains Indians of...

www.atlasobscura.com

 

[traveller777]

The only Native American stone formations (using rows or lines of stones) in North America, is the reginal stone medicine wheel. Most of them have been dismanlted, highly unlikely you could find one. There have been a few smaller discoved by archaeologists in remote places. The reginal stone wheels were so large, several Indian tribes could have a gathering together for their dances. We now call these events Powwows.

The Medicine Wheels of North America

Nearly every ancient civilization has studied the night sky, whether it was for navigation, measuring time, or spiritual purposes. The Plains Indians of...

www.atlasobscura.com

No Indians associated with this, Red. Just some settlers trying to scratch out a living. I wouldbet they were of British Isles decent.

 

[Red_desert]

Plains or Lakota still tribes use the smaller stone wheels.

 

[traveller777]

Plains or Lakota still tribes use the smaller stone wheels.

Yes but nothing to do with these rocks.

 

[Red_desert]

The only Native American stone formations (using rows or lines of stones) in North America, is the regional stone medicine wheel. Most of them have been dismantled, highly unlikely you could find one. There have been a few smaller discoved by archaeologists in remote places. The regional stone wheels were so large, several Indian tribes could have a gathering together for their dances. We now call these events Powwows.

The Medicine Wheels of North America​

Nearly every ancient civilization has studied the night sky, whether it was for navigation, measuring time, or spiritual purposes. The Plains Indians of...

www.atlasobscura.com

No Indians associated with this, Red. Just some settlers trying to scratch out a living. I wouldbet they were of British Isles decent.

I would expect settler or other than Native American.

 

[Red_desert]

Our US government considered them a threat to national security, especially the large regional wheel at Hot Springs area (Arkansas).

 

[traveller777]

I would expect settler or other than Native American.

SETTLERS

Our US government considered them a threat to national security, especially the large regional wheel at Hot Springs area (Arkansas).

Good information, Red. But start another thread and we will talk about that. I am interested. But this guy thought these settler rocks were Native American so this may confuse him.

 

[Red_desert]

Our US government considered them a threat to national security, especially the large regional wheel at Hot Springs area (Arkansas).

Good information, Red. But start another thread and we will talk about that. I am interested. But this guy thought these settler rocks were Native American so this may confuse him.

Ok...

 

[traveller777]

Ok...

I like to hear your thoughts and knowledge. Let me know when you do the thread about medicine wheels.