The Serpent & the Egg Earthen Mounds in the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys © David Yarrow February 2000 |
Route 151, Rensselaer 1995: Olcott Hill is clearly visible from many points in eastern Albany due to its slight dark bulge above the eastern horizon. Rysedorf Hill is the odd, sharp "V"-shape profile formed by trees immediately to the south of Olcott Hill. My eyes were drawn to this odd profile for many years, but not until 1997 did I begin to investigate this distinctive, even dramatic, feature. LOCATION: From Albany's Empire State Plaza looking east across Hudson, Rysedorf Hill is clearly visible on the crest of a ridge that terminates on its north end in Olcott Hill, a large landform of dark rock which bulges slightly above the east horizon. Olcott Hill protrudes slightly above the horizon, capturing the observer's eyes, throughout most of the surrounding landscape.
DIRECTIONS: From downtown Albany, take the Dunn Memorial Bridge (US 9 & 20) off I-787 to Rensselaer on the east Hudson River shore. Then take Third Street (Route 151) east over the railroad tracks, then up out of the Hudson Valley. At the top of the slope, turn right (south) at the traffic light onto Barracks Rd, staying on Route 151. Cross over a creekbed, then climb steeply up the west flank of Olcott Hill. As you start up Olcott Hill, the road bends to the left to bear eastward. Near the summit, look on the left for Robin Lane, then Oriel Lane. Next left is Olcott Lane; turn left onto this dirt road. Drive 300 yards until the road veers sharply right. Rysedorf Hill rises steeply on the right while the dirt drive detours around the hill. Alternately, take I-90 to Exit 9 (US 4 East Greenbush). Go south on US 4 to the first traffic light (NY 151). Turn right and go west on NY 151 down to and over Red Mill Creek, then up and over the rocky ridge. As you approach the summit, Eastern Av. Intersects on the left. As
DIMENSIONS: Olcott Hill is a rocky ridge of hard, dark gray shale that rises over 250 feet above Red Mill Creek, which circles around its north and east sides. A few hundred feet south of Olcott Hill, Rysedorf Hill rises at least another 100 feet, with very steep slopes on the north, east and west sides. The south side slopes gently enough to allow a dirt road track to curl around from Olcott Lane to the summit. FEATURES: While Olcott Hill is a bulge of hard rock with a sprase cover of oil, Rysedorf Hill seems to be an earthen structure pied onto Olcott's rocky spine. This earthen mound seems to be an unnatural pile of dirt heaped up on this rocky ridgetop, especially given its steep slopes. The Rysedorf summit is a somewhat flat, slightly rounded, forming an uneven triangle with its acute angle pointing northwest. This high point provides spectacular views, especially to the west of Albany, Schenectady, the Adirondacks, Catskills and Green Mountains, and beyond.
VEGETATION: A thick stand of tall mixed hardwood trees covers the northern slopes. These trees are even-aged, probably less than 75 years old. The summit is mostly bare of trees and covered with an unremarkable mixture of wild grassses and herbs, with scrubby tree growth on the south slopes. No special features or patterns are noticable to the mixed grasses and herbs on the summit. However, the area seems to have been disturbed by grading or other activity in recent years.
A neighbor who lives next to Rysedorf Hill reports that in an ancient geological time, the area was an ocean, and Rysedorf Hill was an island sticking above sea level. I have serious doubts this can explain how this earthen structure came to rest atop this narrow, rocky ridge. Yet, the notion ancient humans hauled enough soil up this ridge to construct such a large earthen mound seems equally preposterous. >From the north side of Rysedorf Hill, the topographic map shows a road descending east off the summit of the ridge to two houses. This road is no longer accessible or visible. DOWSING: An initial dowsing survey in May 2000 turned up startling results. Five energy ley lines cross the summit of Rysedorf Hill. Two ley lines intersect near the center of the summit at a stone pile. The other three graze
A single massive water dome rises over 700 feet below the peak of the summit. This is a massive waterflows of many thousands of gallons that feeds a complex network of over 37 water veins. This is the largest and most complex waterflow system I have ever encountered in over 25 years of dowsing. Just north of Rysedorf, 15 feet off the east side of the drive, is a single wellhead pipe that used to supply a farmhouse that burned down many years ago. The water vein under this well is just over 200 feet deep. A neighbor reports that most of the house along Olcott Lane have drilled wells, indicating that there is water shallower than this massive, 37-vein wterflow system. Future dowsing surveys should study the waterflows around the base of this mound CERTAINTY: ¶¶¶¶
Some doubt exists about wether this mound is a genuine man-made feature, although it seems to be a geological anomaly. This earth mound needs further research, including a bit of excavation to study of its internal geological composition. NOTES: South of the mound, across NY 151 and west of Eastern Avenue, is another odd land feature: a hollow depression—a pit—gouged into the ridgetop. A dirt drive leads through the woods into this pit fromthe 151-Eastern Av. Intersection. This may be a simple ridgetop quarry from recent history, but I seriously doubt anyone tried to mine the black shale that crowns this rocky ridge. Rather, this could be an ancient feature associated with the mound. In studying other sacred sites, I have often seen a high point in close, intentional association with a nearby hollow space
Olcott Hill is the bulge on the north end of a ridge of bedrock—a dark spine of solid rock that rises very abruptly— almost vertically—out of Red Mill Creek valley, forcing the creek to make a wide northward bend. This hill dominates the east horizon along the Hudson, rising slightly above the level horizon plane to constantly capture the eyes' attention. The NY 151 roadbed cuts deeply into this ridge, and the dark, shale bedrock is easily visible at the peak. This rocky promontory is THE domionant landscape feature in this section of the Hudson River, and would have been a focus for ancient peoples' ceremonial attention. The fold of hard, dark rock that forms Olcott Hill extends due south as a ridge line that spans 20+ miles of the east Hudson valley. Beyond Eastern Avenue the land drops down to Hampton Lake, then veers slightly to the west. This ridge then rises again to cross US 9 & 20 (Columbia Turnpike) at the Greenbush Cemetery in Rensselaer. From there, Ridge Road runs along the crest of this ridge south for a few miles. Ridge Road drops off this rocky spine just before ending at Hays Road, which runs from US 9 & 20 in East Greenbush town center to US 9J along the Hudson River. |
you pass over the summit, notice the dark shale bedrock that was cut away for the roadway. After passing through the rock cut at the summit, and as you begin down the west flank, look for Olcott Lane on the right. Turn right on this drive.
HISTORY: NA.
the edges of the summit. No discernable geometry to their intersections.
