The Herschel Petroglyphs as a whole are most certainly the most important of the Southern Saskatchewan rock art sites, and are dominated by three so-called monoliths, i.e. large rocks viz. boulders covered with petroglyphic markings.
They are located by address at Mountain View RM 318, Saskatchewan, S0L, Canada, located by a small dilapidated road sign next to a field that leads to the "Municipal Heritage Site: Herschel Petroglyphs 1-2, Writing on Stone, Prehistoric Tipi Rings, Project Donated by R.M. of Mountain View, Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Culture". See historicplaces.ca at Canada's Historic Places, a Federal, Provincial and Territorial Collaboration, administered by Parks Canada.
Our analysis indicates that the Herschel (Stranraer) Petroglyph Stones, other large glacial natural stones, i.e "glacial erratics" viz. rock outcroppings and apparent stone placement remnants (visible via Google Earth) mark stars of Scorpio and surrounding stars in Libra and Sagittarius) at the Autumn Equinox ca. 3000 B.C. We are unable to tell which rocks are still in situ, not having been to the site, and we rely on online photographs and markings visible in Google Earth. Some large rocks appear natural in their location and may simply have been integrated into a general design. Others may have been moved especially to mark particular stars. Still other markings, still visible in Google Earth, may have no rock at the location. Below is an image comparing the main features of the general area (as seen by us via Google Earth) with the corresponding stars:
As one can see, major stars of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius are arguably marked on the ground in view of the correspondence with the stars. We assume a date around 3000 B.C.
In addition, we made a more detailed version of the features that we see at the Herschel Petroglyphs, which add nothing much to the astronomy, so they are important mostly historically in seeking the origin of the ancient astronomers and Haplogroup X, finding there a female human head with hair whose eyes are marked by the two special and especially bright clusters.
Those clusters are located between Scorpio and Sagittarius, with the cluster M7 known as Ptolemy's Cluster having a magnitude of 3.50, and the cluster M6 known as the Butterfly Cluster having a magnitude of 4.50, i.e. both easily seen by naked eye in good visibility conditions. Ptolemy's Cluster is also found marked on the Judaculla Rock.
The human head has an animal on top of it because, as seen at megalithic sites in the Old World, the ancients, in days before leather goods could be purchased in stores, wore the pelts viz. complete furs of small animals as warm headwear.
Between the tail of Scorpio and Sagittarius, the Milky Way has the form of a serpent's head and a serpent outline might also be found in the Google Earth image to the left of the profiled human head below, but it is so faint and uncertain that we have left it out. That is something for the archaeologists.
Let us now take a look in the next posting at the Herschel Petrolgpyhs' Monolith #1, a magnificent cupmarked stone ( a stone having cupules) similar to the Judaculla Rock in style (i.e. what we call its "pendant" stone), which gave us our initial idea of how an ancient land survey of Native North America might have looked, indeed, because we think that principle of that survey is marked on that stone. Take a look at the next posting.
As a footnote, we might note that the Stranraer location near Herschel is of interest in terms of the origins of the first surveying astronomers of Native America because of Stranraer in Scotland, the second largest town in Dumfries and Galloway (we have been there), which marks a peninsula in form similar to the front of Scorpio. As noted at the Wikipedia: "The name is generally believed to come from the Scottish Gaelic An t-Sròn Reamhar meaning "The Fat Nose", but which more prosaically might be rendered as "the broad headland"."
The local topography of Stranraer and Herschel in Canada is similar, and the ridge just below the Herschel petroglyphs has a shape virtually like Scorpio, and surely the monoliths were placed there for that reason.
The name similarity of course appears to be surely chance, but then again, we were unable to find any sources about the origin of the Stranraer place name in Canada. Maybe someone from the area knows. It is hard to imagine that such a rather unique name would survive longer than a few centuries at best in such unaltered form.
THIS POSTING IS Posting Number 22 of
The Great Mound, Petroglyph and Painted Rock Art Journey of Native America
The Herschel Petroglyphs, Monoliths and Attendant Rocks Mark Primarily the Stars of Scorpio and the Autumn Equinox ca. 3000 B.C.
They are located by address at Mountain View RM 318, Saskatchewan, S0L, Canada, located by a small dilapidated road sign next to a field that leads to the "Municipal Heritage Site: Herschel Petroglyphs 1-2, Writing on Stone, Prehistoric Tipi Rings, Project Donated by R.M. of Mountain View, Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Culture". See historicplaces.ca at Canada's Historic Places, a Federal, Provincial and Territorial Collaboration, administered by Parks Canada.
Our analysis indicates that the Herschel (Stranraer) Petroglyph Stones, other large glacial natural stones, i.e "glacial erratics" viz. rock outcroppings and apparent stone placement remnants (visible via Google Earth) mark stars of Scorpio and surrounding stars in Libra and Sagittarius) at the Autumn Equinox ca. 3000 B.C. We are unable to tell which rocks are still in situ, not having been to the site, and we rely on online photographs and markings visible in Google Earth. Some large rocks appear natural in their location and may simply have been integrated into a general design. Others may have been moved especially to mark particular stars. Still other markings, still visible in Google Earth, may have no rock at the location. Below is an image comparing the main features of the general area (as seen by us via Google Earth) with the corresponding stars:
Google Earth Simple Features at the Herschel Petroglyphs
Below is a snip from Google Earth and below that is our marking
of the visible features, not necessarily knowing what they are.
Below is a snip from Google Earth and below that is our marking
of the visible features, not necessarily knowing what they are.
Analysis of the Google Earth Features at the Herschel Petroglyphs
As one can see, major stars of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius are arguably marked on the ground in view of the correspondence with the stars. We assume a date around 3000 B.C.
In addition, we made a more detailed version of the features that we see at the Herschel Petroglyphs, which add nothing much to the astronomy, so they are important mostly historically in seeking the origin of the ancient astronomers and Haplogroup X, finding there a female human head with hair whose eyes are marked by the two special and especially bright clusters.
Those clusters are located between Scorpio and Sagittarius, with the cluster M7 known as Ptolemy's Cluster having a magnitude of 3.50, and the cluster M6 known as the Butterfly Cluster having a magnitude of 4.50, i.e. both easily seen by naked eye in good visibility conditions. Ptolemy's Cluster is also found marked on the Judaculla Rock.
The human head has an animal on top of it because, as seen at megalithic sites in the Old World, the ancients, in days before leather goods could be purchased in stores, wore the pelts viz. complete furs of small animals as warm headwear.
Between the tail of Scorpio and Sagittarius, the Milky Way has the form of a serpent's head and a serpent outline might also be found in the Google Earth image to the left of the profiled human head below, but it is so faint and uncertain that we have left it out. That is something for the archaeologists.
More Detailed and more Speculative Tracing
of Google Earth Features at Herschel Petroglyphs
of Google Earth Features at Herschel Petroglyphs
Let us now take a look in the next posting at the Herschel Petrolgpyhs' Monolith #1, a magnificent cupmarked stone ( a stone having cupules) similar to the Judaculla Rock in style (i.e. what we call its "pendant" stone), which gave us our initial idea of how an ancient land survey of Native North America might have looked, indeed, because we think that principle of that survey is marked on that stone. Take a look at the next posting.
As a footnote, we might note that the Stranraer location near Herschel is of interest in terms of the origins of the first surveying astronomers of Native America because of Stranraer in Scotland, the second largest town in Dumfries and Galloway (we have been there), which marks a peninsula in form similar to the front of Scorpio. As noted at the Wikipedia: "The name is generally believed to come from the Scottish Gaelic An t-Sròn Reamhar meaning "The Fat Nose", but which more prosaically might be rendered as "the broad headland"."
The local topography of Stranraer and Herschel in Canada is similar, and the ridge just below the Herschel petroglyphs has a shape virtually like Scorpio, and surely the monoliths were placed there for that reason.
The name similarity of course appears to be surely chance, but then again, we were unable to find any sources about the origin of the Stranraer place name in Canada. Maybe someone from the area knows. It is hard to imagine that such a rather unique name would survive longer than a few centuries at best in such unaltered form.
THIS POSTING IS Posting Number 22 of
The Great Mound, Petroglyph and Painted Rock Art Journey of Native America
The Herschel Petroglyphs, Monoliths and Attendant Rocks Mark Primarily the Stars of Scorpio and the Autumn Equinox ca. 3000 B.C.