Curious Stone Walls

Curious Stone Walls in Southern Indiana Rick Osmon

Be Careful What You Wish For

Ancient

Walls

Fortress

Waterways

Hilltop

Indiana

“ Line” of Fortresses

Welsh

Key Words

Known Fortress Indiana State Geologist, E.T. Cox, recorded this survey report in 1870, supposedly discovered by Gen. George Rogers Clark in about 1799

The New Site Landowner in erosion & friend atop largest of at least six exposed wall segments I call it the “East Fork Site”

Site Medium Context

Site Large Context Cox /Clark Site Charlestown Deam Wilderness Site Merom Bluff Site East Fork Site

Finer Context

10 O’clock Line Curious coincidence?

Curious Features

Slot at top middle of at least 3 wall segments

Old growth trees

Steep grade

Significant spring very nearby

Significant erosion

Excavated footpath

Note accumulated soil & detritus on uphill side

Satellite View Wall Spring/Cave Excavated stone steps Second cave entrance (vertical) Grade ca. 1:2

Heavy Construction

Some stones up to about 800 lbs.

Visible cross section >10 feet at apparent base

Original length ca. 20 meters / 66 feet

Apparent maximum height about 15 feet

Straight line footprint

It makes a GREAT deer blind !

Yep, It’s a Wall, But Why?

Erosion control

Fortification

Structure foundation

Livestock enclosure

Bath house

Dam for a mill pond

Some or all of the above

Possible Purpose?

Mill Pond Criteria

Flowing water at or above top of wheel

Sustainable support structure (food, shelter, transport)

Readily available hardwoods

Something to process

Problems with Mill Hypothesis

Steep grade

High hill

Few available resources, raw materials on top

Poor transport for finished material

Various Waterwheel Designs

Rio Tinto Mine De-watering Pumps

Sixteen wheels

96 feet lift

Human powered

Roman period

This lode shows signs of being worked for 5000 years

One of the Signs at Rio Tinto 5,000 Years of Mine Pollution

If a Mill, What Product?

Grist mill

Saw mill (wood or stone)

Hammer mill

Bellows

Textile

Other processes

Other work

Ore Processing?

Significant vein of rust colored rock

Near major river, but falls up & downstream

Near place name “Ironton”

Testable!

No Joy in the Ironton

Give up? No!

Cable cars (?!)

Moving water with water power Or maybe no water wheel at all…

More Possibilities

A Wall of Confusion

All key words met except one, “Welsh”

Gravity Balance In a gravity balance system two parallel tracks are employed with ascending trains on one and descending trains on the adjacent track. A single cable is attached to both trains, wound round a winding drum at the top of the incline to provide braking. The weight of the loaded descending cars is used to lift the ascending empties. This form of cable railway can only be used to move loads downhill and requires a wider space than a stationary engine -driven incline, but has the advantage of not requiring external power, and therefore costs less to operate.

Gravity Balance

Water balance This is a variant of the gravity balance incline that can be used to move loads uphill . The weight of the unloaded descending train is increased using water until it is greater than the train traveling uphill. At this point gravity allows the uphill train to ascend. The water is either carried in an additional water wagon attached to the descending train, or is carried in a platform on which the train descends. This form of incline has the advantages of a gravity balance system with the added ability to haul loads uphill. It is only practical where a large supply of water is available at the top of the incline. An example of this type of cable railway is the passenger carrying Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway .

Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway

Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway Two cars, each capable of transporting 40 passengers, joined by a continuous cable running around a 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) pulley at each end of the incline. Water feeds through 5-inch (130 mm) pipes from the West Lyn River — over a mile away — into tanks under the floor of the upper car. Each car has a 700 gallon tank mounted between the wheels. Water is discharged from the lower car, until the heavier top car begins to descend, with the speed controlled by a brakeman travelling on each car. The parallel tracks (which bow out at the centre point, to allow the cars to pass) rise 500 feet (150 m) and are 862 feet (263 m) long, giving the line a gradient of 1:1.75 .

Where exactly is this gravity balance railway?

Wales

Speculative Hypotheses Truly ancient Fortress Water balance cable tram to deliver supplies, wooden rails Multi-purpose mill & power source Euro or Middle Eastern, but far from certain

Next Step Dig

Digging for…? Evidence of a palisade Any artifacts Skeletal remains, including livestock Tooled stone

Also… Attempt to enter closed room in cave Core sample the old beech tree.

Rick Osmon, aka Oz http:// oopaloopacafe .com to find great info about guests and previous shows http:// blogtalkradio .com/ oopa - loopa -cafe to listen to the live shows and join the chat Call in during show (646) 652-2720 Mobile (not during live show, please) (812) 259-1102 oz@ oopaloopacafe .com Thanks for listening Feedback