Town seeking protection for manmade cave

Town officials in Upton are trying to protect a mysterious manmade cave that archeologists say dates to Colonial times and others say may be even older.

The Board of Selectmen met Wednesday with Gerald Cuccione, who last June purchased the 7.5-acre parcel that contains the cave, also known as the Upton Chamber.

The Historical Commission and selectmen are concerned that the land may be developed and that the cave may be lost.

''It's an important piece of history to our town, our country, and maybe even the world," Selectwoman Joan Shanahan said during the meeting.

Some have theorized that the cave may be more than 1,000 years old and a site purposely aligned with the skies, as many archeologists believe Stonehenge was. But others say it may just be a Colonial root cellar.

Alan Rosenfield, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, suggested that Cuccione either donate the cave to the town or name a price. The town could then seek ways to pay for the property, he said.

Cuccione, of Warwick, R.I., said he was open to the idea of the town acquiring the property. ''As long as it's feasible, I would rather have the town use it," he said.

Selectmen expressed hope that discussion would resume in a few weeks.

More than 300 stone chambers have been cataloged in the Northeast, but the Upton chamber is among the largest. A nearly 20-foot long passageway leads into the circular chamber, which is 12 feet in diameter and 12 feet high, according to James Mavor, a Falmouth resident who has researched it.

''It's the most spectacular stone chamber in New England," said Mavor, a retired oceanographic engineer who studied it from 1980 to 1985.

The chamber's origins have been debated for years.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission says the chamber deserves further study, but says it is not as old as some believe.

''It's believed to be Colonial and not prior to European settlement," said commission spokesman Brian McNiff.

Boston University archeology professor Curtis Runnels agrees, saying the idea that the structure predates Colonial times is ''just wishful thinking and fantasy."

Mavor, however, continues to espouse the theory that the cave is ancient. He studied it for years, alongside Byron Dix, a specialist in the astronomy of ancient cultures.

''We discovered that the chamber could have been an astronomical site, an observatory," Mavor said.

Mavor and Dix, who is now deceased, suggested that the chamber and two nearby stone cairns, or piles, were created around AD 700 to 750.

According to the ''ancient chamber" theory, the chamber might have been constructed by Native Americans or by Irish monks or other Europeans.

But Runnels, who teaches a course on archeological mysteries, said that archeologists believe there were no Europeans in Massachusetts before 1500.

Upton Historical Commission member Cathy Taylor said she was inspired to work to preserve the chamber by a book written by Mavor and Dix that includes a chapter on it.

As a middle school teacher in Franklin, Taylor said, she has taught about mysterious ancient structures such as Stonehenge and the pyramids.

''To have a site right here in Upton that also seems mysteriously old and [astronomically] aligned is exciting," she said.