Mystery Stone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mystery Stone of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire is an egg shaped artifact found in 1872. The origins and purpose of the artifact are still unknown -- there are no other known objects bearing similar markings or design. The stone is currently on display at the Museum of New Hampshire History.
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[edit] Discovery
In 1872, construction workers found a lump of clay while digging a hole. Noting its odd shape, Seneca A. Ladd kept it and later discovered an egg shaped stone encased within the clay. Later that year, the American Naturalist hailed the piece as “a remarkable Indian relic." After his death, Mr. Ladd's daughter donated the egg to the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1927.
[edit] Composition & Origin
The stone is a type of quartzite, derived from sandstone, or mylonite, a fine-grained, laminated rock formed by the shifting of rock layers along faults. The rock type is not familiar to New Hampshire, but the state can not be ruled out as the source. There have also been suggestions that the egg is Celtic or Inuit in orgin.
[edit] Symbols & Markings
The egg is 4 inches long and 2 1/2 inches thick. Symbols include what look like inverted arrows, a moon, some dots, a spiral, an ear of corn, a depressed circle with three figures with one looking like a deer's leg, a face, a teepee, and starlike circles. There are holes bored in both ends of the stone, with different size bits. Each bore is straight, not tapered. Scratches in the lower bore suggest it was placed on a metal shaft and removed several times, according to an analysis done in 1994 by New England state officials.
[edit] Interpretation
The meaning (and possible purpose) of the drawings are not known, however many theories have been offered. The American Naturalist suggested that the relic "commemorates a treaty between two tribes". A 1931 letter sent to the historical society claimed it was a "thunderstone".
