Opening Comments
In Avalon, we work closely with the Spirit of Place wherever we may be; thus the power places called 'sacred sites' and the spirit paths that connect them across the sacred landscape are of especial interest to us. As spiritual stewards of the planet we are vowed to protect such places to whatever extent possible, regardless of their religious affiliation; but to do this we must first know where they are. Mapping and geomancy of American Sacred Sites is still in its infancy. Certainly what we offer here is not intended as a comprehensive list. But it can provide a starting place for our explorations and serve as the beginnings of a Watch List of places we should all be mindful to cherish and protect.
Most people think of America as bereft of sacred sites. Even people who assume the existence of a few surviving 'Native' sites seem to believe that all 'the real sites of interest' lie across the ocean, but this is far from true. There were (and are) as many sacred places here as in the Isles themselves, and many may be attributed to the same cultures as those that built the megaliths in Britain and Europe. But America is a consumer culture not much concerned with historical relics -- and developers hate them. Finding a location of archaeological significance at a major buildings site means an immediate halt to construction until the site can be properly studied. Sadly, many companies simply 'dispose' of troublesome antiquities, rather than incurring the cost of reporting them. During the past century, twenty thousand mounds have been destroyed in Ohio alone. Perhaps we lack the imagination of our European counterparts, who quickly built a tourist industry around their sites, or perhaps our disposable consumer culture does not value such things. More likely, the average person simply does not understand the issue. While academics argue, developers rush to bulldoze the very sites they are debating in an effort to protect their profits. 'Disposable' construction projects have somehow taken precedence over real history and the enduring spirit of our land. It is part of our spiritual work to help reverse this trend by honouring the whole story of our land (not just the bits that pertain to us, specifically) and sharing that story and experience with others.
It is not important that other people know how we work with such sites or what we call their Spirits of Place. The fact that many religions will honour the same sacred sites over time should not be a problem. This has been true in all places and times. What is important is that people learn how to interact respectfully with, and spend contemplative, quiet, meditative time in our places of power; that they experience the healing and peace such places can bring, and come to realize that they deserve our protection -- and more than this, that life on earth cannot thrive without them.
A sacred site, by its very nature, cannot 'belong' to anyone. It belongs to everyone. It is our birthright to commune with such places, our inheritance from Spirit and from our ancestors. It is past time that we came to remember and cherish them. To this end, we hope that you will find this list most helpful.
USA: Northeast
Connecticut
Hammonasset Cairn, Gungywamp mound and ring stones
Maine
Ring stones (Hancock), Mt. Katahdin
Massachusetts
Druid Hill mound and ring stones (Lowell), Burnt Hill ring stones, Shutesbury
Temenos, Upton Chamber, Burnt Hill Long Ship stones, Spirit Door stones (Lenox)
New Hampshire
Mt. Washington, Mystery Hill (Salem), America’s Stonehenge (North Salem)
New Jersey
Tripod Rock (on Pyramid Mountain)
New York
Mt. Marcy, Balanced Rock (North Salem), Shrines of Kateria Tekakwitha
(Auriesville and Fonda), Ganondagan (Iroquois monument), High Tor (Naples),
Bath hot springs (Bath), Kent's Cliffs mounds (Putnam), Curbstone Giant
(Arkport), Niagara Falls, Squawkie Hill ('Welsh Indian' monument, Mt. Morris),
Letchworth State Park-gorge menhirs, Ogham and Rune petroglyphs, Frost
Valley petroglyphs, Little Stonehenge settlement, ring stones and mounds (stones
damaged by scavenging for modern building use, Penn Yan)
Pennsylvania
Cairn Oley I-II, Singing Rock Park
Vermont
Calendar One, Newfane Cairn, Druid's Chair (outside Springfield)
West Virginia
Moundsville, Cooke County Ogham petroglyphs and burial, Dingess Ogham
petroglyphs, Valley of the Mounds (largest remaining megalithic centre in N.
America)
Southeast
Alabama
Moundville
Florida
Crystal River mounds, Lake Jackson mounds (near Tallahassee), Panther mound
(Everglades), Mount Royal mounds, Madira Bickel mound
Georgia
Stone Mountain, Ocmulgee Park, Etowah mounds (Cartersville), Rock Eagle Effigy
Kentucky
Wickliffe mounds
Louisiana
Poverty Point mound (Epps), Watson Brake mound (near Monroe), Marksville
mounds (near Monroe), Natchez mounds, Tchefuncte mounds, Our Lady of
Prompt Succour Marian shrine (New Orleans)
Mississippi
Emerald mound (Tupelo)
North Carolina
Pilot mountain, Town Creek Indian mound, Judaculla Rocks I-II (near Cullowhee),
Siren Stream (near Asheville), Stane Fen (near Elkin), Mt. Richland-Balsam,
Dragon's Tail (NC / TN state borders), Brown Mountain, Mahogany Rock menhir
(Blue Ridge Parkway), Holy Well (near Boone), Boone Ogham Petroglyphs,
Gardner Rock (Yancey)
Tennessee
Saul’s Mound, Pinson Mounds, Madoc's mound
Midwest
Arkansas
Hot Springs National Park
Illinois
Monks mound (Cahokia, near Collinsville), Kincaid mounds
Indiana
Mounds State Park, Angel mounds, Great Circle mound
Iowa
Effigy mounds national monument (Marquette), Bear mound
Michigan
Norton mounds
Minnesota
Pipestone Quarry-Pipestone National Monument, Jeffers Petroglyph site
Ohio
Serpent Mound, Mound City, Newark Earth Works, Power Mound (Fort Ancient),
Octagon Mound, Our Lady of America Marian shrine (Fostoria)
Oklahoma
Antelope and Buffalo springs (Arbuckle Mountains), Spiro Mounds State Park
Wisconsin
Aztalan mound (Lake Mills), Temple mounds, Blue Mound State Park, Lizard
Mound, Devil’s Lake and effigies
Southwest
Arizona
Mt. Humphreys (Doko O Sliid), Canyon de Chelly ruins, Sedona, Mt. Baboquivari,
Meteor Crater, Mt. Newberry (Yuman sacred mountain), Black Mesa, Hopi
reservation, Superstition Mountains, Zuni sacred lake (junction of Little Colorado
and Zuni rivers), Monument Valley
Colorado
Our Lady of Scottsdale Marian shrine, Great Sand Dunes, Mt. Blanca (Sisnajini),
Mt. Hesperus (Dibe’ Nitsaa), Pagosa Springs, Island Lake, La Plata Mountains,
Stone Circle, Apishapa Wildlife area, Old Man Mountain-Estes Park,
New Mexico
Mt. Taylor (Tsoodzil), Chaco Canyon Anasazi ruins, White Sands dunes, Chimayo
church, Ute Mountain, near Questa, Blue Lake, Gobernador Nob, Shiprock,
Mt. Huerfano, Truchas Peaks, New Mexico (Tewa sacred mountain known as Ku
Sehn Pin), Chicoma Mountain (Tewa sacred mountain known as Tsikomo),
Mt. Conjilon (Tewa sacred mountain known as Tse Shu Pin), Sandia Crest (Tewa
sacred mountain known as Oku Pin), Mt. Capitan (Mescalero Apache sacred
mountain), Mt. San Augustin (Mescalero Apache sacred mountain), Mt. Salinas
(Mescalero Apache sacred mountain), Hosta Butte (‘Ak’i Dah Nast’ani’), Bandelier
Nat. Monument-Stone Lion shrines of Yapashi & near village of Running Eagle
Falls
Texas
Enchanted Rock (near Fredericksburg), Mt. Guadalupe (Mescalero Apache sacred
mountain),
Utah
Hovenweep ruins, Mt. Zion, Pyramid Lake, Avikwa’ame (Spirit Mountain),
Nevada
Grapevine Canyon (Yuman sacred place)
The West
California
Mt. Shasta, Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Diablo, San Jacinto, Mt. Lassen, Joshua Tree
national monument, Mt. Cuchama (Tecate), Santa Cruz magnetic fields,
Conception Point (near Santa Barbara, Chumash sacred site), Soldier mountain
(Simolaki Mountain, sacred to Ajumawi Indians), San Bernadino Mountain (sacred
place of the Diegueno Indians)
Montana
Giant Springs, Chief Mountain (Mt. Ninaistakis; sacred to Blackfeet Indians),
Sweetgrass Hills
Oregon
Wizard Island-Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, Gold Beach magnetic fields, Balancing
Rocks
South Dakota
Bear Butte (Noaha-vose Cheyenne Sacred Mountain), Harney Peak, Bad Lands
Washington
Puget Sound magnetic fields, Mt. Ranier (Tacoma), Mount Adams, Mount Baker
Wyoming
Devil’s Tower, Big Horn Medicine Wheel (near Lovell)
Alaska
Mt. McKinley (Denali), Mt. St. Elias, Sitka National Park, Tongass Island
Hawaii
Maui
Haleakala volcano, Moku’ula, Iao Valley, Piilanihale Heiau temple, Mauna Kea
volcano, Mo’ okini Luakini Heiau, Pu’ uhonua O Honaunau (Honauna Bay),
Kaulu Paoa Heiau (Kauia Island), Mt. Kilauea (birthplace of Pele, goddess of
volcanoes), Pu’ukohola Heiau (Hill of the Whale) National Historic site, Umi Heiau
(Hualalai Mountain)
Molokai
Ka Ule O Nanahoa fertility shrine (on hill overlooking Kalaupapa peninsula)
Recommended Books: Sacred Places of North America, Brad Olsen; Sacred Sites: A Guidebook to Sacred Centers and Mysterious Places in the United States, Frank Joseph, Sacred Places in North America, Courtney Milne; Sacred Sites: A Traveler’s Guide to North America’s Most Powerful, Mystical Landmarks, Natasha Peterson; Shrines of Our Lady, Peter Mullen; In Plain Sight, Gloria Farley, New England’s Ancient Mysteries, Robert E. Cahill; Mysterious Ancient America, Paul Devereux; America B.C: Ancient Settlers in the New World, Barry Fell; Saga America, Barry Fell; Manitou: The Sacred Landscape of New England’s Native Civilization, James W. Mavor & Byron Dix; Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of North American Civilization, Roger G. Kennedy; Long Before Columbus: How The Ancients Discovered America, Hans Holzer; Canyon Country Prehistoric Rock Art, F.A. Barnes; How the Sun God Reached America c.2500 BC: A Guide to Megalithic Sites, Reinoud M. de Jonge & Jay S. Wakefield; Living the Sky: The Cosmos of the American Indian, Ray A. Williamson; Native American Astronomy, Anthony F. Aveni; The Spiritual Awakening of the Great Smoky Mountains, Page Bryant; Atlas of the Mysterious in North America, Rosemary Ellen Guiley
CANADA
Soldier mountain (sacred to Ajumawi Indians, Fall River valley, Montreal), St.
Joseph's Oratory, Chief mountain (near Ft. Macleod), Mt. St. Elias, Great Sandhills
(south Saskatchewan), Wanuskewin (5 km north of Saskatoon), Moose mountain
medicine wheel, Walbran valley (west coast of Vancouver Island)
Other sacred sites in Canada:
Writing-on-Stone petroglyph site (24 miles s/e of Lethbridge, Alberta), Lac Sainte
Anne (west of Edmonton, Alberta), Medicine Lake (near Hidden Lake, southwest
Alberta), Majorville medicine wheel (south Alberta), Valley of the Ten Peaks
(Canadian Rockies near Calgary, Alberta), Keremeos Mound (southeast British
Columbia), Cormorant Island (Alert Bay, eastern shores of North Vancouver
Island, British Columbia), William’s Lake (Columneetza Lake, Central British
Columbia), Petroglyph Park (west central coast of Vancouver Island, British
Columbia), Peterborough Petroglyphs (southern Ontario), Martyrs’ Shrine and
healing spring (Ontario), Dreamer’s Rock vision quest site (Manitoulin Island,
Ontario), Vision quest stone ring (Bannock Point, Whiteshell Provincial Park,
Manitoba), Shrine of burial of Kateri Tekakwitha (Church of St. Francis-Xavier,
Quebec), Mission (Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve, 6m/se Montreal), Tipperary Creek
medicine wheel (central Saskatchewan), Roy Rivers medicine wheel (southwest
Saskatchewan), Turtle medicine wheel (southeast Saskatchewan)
UNITED KINGDOM
England
Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, St. Alban's (London), Canterbury cathedral, St.
Martin's church (Canterbury), Winchester cathedral, Cerne Abas Giant (Cerne),
St. Michael's Mount and numerous megalithic sites (Penzance), Tintagel castle,
and nearby megalithic sites (Tintagel), Glastonbury Tor, Chalice Well and
numerous nearby sites (Somerset), Bath cathedral and Roman hot springs,
Stonehenge ring stones (Wiltshire), Avebury ring stones, West Kennet Long
Barrow, Silbury Hill and numerous nearby megalithic sites (Wiltshire), York
cathedral, Mother Shipton's oracular cave (Knaresborough), Durham cathedral,
Castle Rigg ring stones (Keswick),
Wales
Walsingham cathedral and holy well, Lincoln cathedral, Llangolen, Castel Dinas
Bran, Holywell (Mona), Bryn Celli Dhu (Mona), church of St. Winifred, Cader Idris
holy mountain, Clynnog Fawr megaliths, holy well, shrine of St. Beuno, Carn Ingli
holy mountain, Lundy Island, Isle of Man, Bardsey Island
Scotland
Lindisfarne holy island and church ruins, Salisbury cathedral and Old Sarum,
St. David's pilgrimage church and holy well of St. Non, Iona holy island, Trelleck
megaliths and well of St. Anne, Holy well and rock of St. Fillan, Dunfillan hill
megaliths, New Scone Shien fairy hill, Dunvegan holy hill of Healabhal Mhor and
Healabhal Bheag, Callanish I-IV ring stones and numerous nearby megalithic
remains (Isle of Lewis), Orkney Island Stones of Stennes, Ring of Brodgar, other
nearby megalithic remains, Portree holy hill of Beinn-na-Greine, Durness holy
cave of Smoo, Fingal's cave (Island of Staffa), Clava cairn and other megalithic
remains (Inverness), great megaliths (Rudston)
IRELAND
Lady's Island, Mt. Gabriel, Inishmore cliffs, Mt. Croach Patrick, Knock
church, Tobar and Ailt holy well and Carrowmore megaliths (near Sligo), Lough
Derg, Slieve League mountain holy well, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth
megalithic sites (Knowth.com), Inis Cealtra island, Hill of Tara (Meath), Baltinglass
megalithic ruins, Drogheda; Killycluggin ring stones, Wells of Struell
(Downpatrick), Kells; Round Tower, Brandon Mountain ring stones and holy well,
Skellig Michael, Kildare cathedral and holy well, Kenmare ring stones and holy
well, Dromberg ring stones, Loughcrew area megaliths, Ballyvourney Well, Lough
Gur and Lion ring stones, Uragh ring stones, Drombohilly ring stones, Ardgroom
ring stones, Kealkil ring stones, Carrowkeel megaliths, Lazair's Well, Hill of
Uisnech (West Meath)
BRITTANY & FRANCE
St. Guilhem le De'sert, pilgrimage cathedral and church of St. Michael (LePuy),
Lourdes Holy grotto, Paris Cathedral of Notre Dame, Basilica of Sacre Coeur,
Chartres pilgrimage church, St. Anne d'Auray cathedral of Mary's mother,
Mont-Saint-Michele abbey, Carnac megalithic site and nearby Locmariaquer,
Gavr'inis island megalithic site, La Grotte des Fe'es megalithic site (Arles), La
Houque Bie megalithic site (Jersey), Montsegur cathar fort, Mont Ventoux Celtic
holy mountain and spring (Vaucluse, near Carpentras), Coat-an-Hay and Coat-
an- Noz sacred Celtic forests (near Guingamp), Celtic sacred forest of Broceliande
(Foret de Paimpont) and megalithic site of La Roche aux F'ees (Rennes), Island of
Isle de Sein (accessible by boat from Audierne), Douvries-la-Delivrande Celtic
goddess site and Black Madonna, Saint-Maure-de-Touraine church atop Celtic site
(Indre-et- Loire), Celtic sacred forest of Foret de Huelgoat (Montagnes d' Arre'e)
The 2005 Most Endangered Sacred Sites List
The following sites are currently considered endangered by human activity, most commonly from the effects of road building, petrochemical plant pollution, and mining. One striking exception to this pattern is Octagon Mound in Ohio (US), which is currently under threat from a Country Club, which leases the right of access from the owner. The Club has constructed a golf course onsite with sand traps occasionally cutting directly into the mound. Only a tiny area is currently accessible to Native Americans and the general public. But the Octagon Mound is by no means the only well-known site under threat:
1. Dampier Rock Art Preserve, Australia
2. Hazaribagh & Karanpura Valley, India
3. Mangyu Gompa Monastery Complex, India
4. Tara Hill, Ireland
5. Carnic Massif and Rosia Montana, Romania
6. Black Hills, Montana, South Dakota & Wyoming, USA
7. Octagon Mound, Ohio, USA
Clearly, if Tara of the Kings (Tara Hill) is not safe from the Irish government, then no site is safe, and all require our special care and vigilance. May we ever provide it and may we succeed in our role as stewards, helping to care for and resanctify the Earth.
Closing Thoughts
This list barely scrapes the surface of the real treasure that lies hidden in the landscape all around us. A priceless record exists in the very earth we tread; in the landscape's silhouette on the horizon, and the artifact trod underfoot. The ruined monuments we see are only the tokens of the most recent people to venerate these places. They are not badges of eternal ownership, nor would the far ancestors likely have thought them so. It is time to stop fighting over who should have access to a site and who shouldn't, and remember an older wisdom: that these places do not belong to us -- it is we who belong to them. Only when we are able to honour them as Universally sacred (instead of coveting them as 'personal property') will we be able to resanctify our lives and our world, remembering its sacred stories in which we each share.
Consider the possibility ... that the world's sacred places are rightfully 'neutral zones' belonging to no one people, but accessible to all, for all time. The Gods did not create the world in 'parcels'. Creation is being forged even now -- as one whole. Universally dedicated places already exist and thrive today, Chalice Well, the Tor, (UK), Bryn Celli Dhu (Wales), Carnac (France), Mystery Hill and the Serpent Mound (US) being just a few examples. Here, the focus remains on historical restoration, care, and mindful use that preserves the integrity of each site, including whatever monuments, ruins, and artifacts might remain from earlier periods. Proposals for new site projects are subjected to close scrutiny to prevent any negative impact; but at present the enforcement of such restrictions lies solely in the hands of small groups within certain host countries, and Trusts are not always invulnerable to private interests. While in the main they do an excellent job, when they do fail the results can be devastating -- and irreversible, as we have lately seen ...
Where the sense of national identity weakens, so too does the perceived importance of 'heritage', which has become the prize of corporate 'nationhood'. 'Consumer economies' by their nature lack cohesive identities. They survive by 'consuming' long-term resources in the interest of short-term gain. In such an environment understanding and support for the preservation of antiquities has diminished, leaving sites vulnerable to development or other private interests. Once lost, they are gone forever. Some have suggested a properly endowed and empowered 'World Heritage Trust'; but while possibly serving as a barrier to senseless devastation and discriminatory practices where local and national institutions prove inadequate, any institution that could wield sufficient power to effectively provide such oversight would be extremely vulnerable to corruption. Until local communities begin to take a more active interest in protecting the treasures sitting outside their doorsteps, our world's sacred places will remain imperiled.
However we choose to deal with the issue, we must learn to lay aside the 'either/or' mentality of 'ownership' and embrace, cherish, and share all of Creation once again. Only by cherishing diversity while walking the Path of Unity may we find inner peace and spiritual harmony.
May Peace Prevail
