Unearthing history.

While dismantling the wall on my current project, a small retaining wall in varying degrees of collapse. The face stones became narrow to the point of having no structural cohesion.

When I began to dig out the soil behind the wall, the reason for these narrow stones became clear.

Intersecting the repaired wall at a 45 degree angle, was a previously built and superior retaining wall.

Possibly out of respect for a previous craftsman, the builder of the second wall had simply walled across the face of the existing wall with the above narrow stones.

Altering the line of the wall was not an option, so I dismantled a small section of the original retaining wall and reused the stone in the repaired wall.

I hope the next builder finds the existing wall as fascinating as did I.

Another successful drystone wall building workshop

This last weekend brought together a diverse group of participants from far and wide. Minnesota, New York, Maine and all parts of Connecticut. Stonewell Farm in Killingworth CT was the venue for our Spring Drystone walling workshop, and, as you can see from the photos, glorious weather, and good humor inspired another successful weekend.
Our next gathering will be the 26th and 27th of September.