From 2003 to 2012 the investigators took eight expeditions into the Superstition Wilderness Area to collect pictures and field data.
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The Circlestone Ruin is an ancient stone circle deep in the heart of the Superstition Mountain Wilderness Area. The Circlestone Research Project was a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to participate actively in original research. Students collected field and archival data, analyzed it, and participated in professionally presenting their findings.
The Circlestone field expedition took place on February 15th through February 20th, 2006. Four students from MCC at the Red Mountain campus: Jennifer Kaufmann (Biology), Jared McBride (Mathematics), Dan Hammerl (Communication), and Charles Miller (Geology) accompanied Red Mountain faculty Bruce Peterson (Communication) and Dr. Dennis Wilson (Biology) into the Superstition Wilderness Area to collect surface measurements and biological data at the ruin. In addition, four other students assisted in website development, archival research, GIS mapping, and graphic presentation: Chelsey Thievin, Teresa Baker, David Black, and Danielle Spagnuolo.
Digging is not prohibited in the Wilderness Area, so the team was careful to leave the site undisturbed. There are many historic ruins in the Superstition Wilderness. When visiting, please leave them just as you found them. Arizona's wilderness areas are national treasures; visitors are obligated to share responsibility for preserving these unique natural and cultural resources.
The Project Team hiked in using Forest Trail #109 from the Rodgers Trough Trailhead, just 5 ½ miles south of the site of their base camp. The map above shows the site of the base camp just north of the Reavis Ranch homestead site which is in a meadow bordered by apple trees and the camp’s relationship to the site of the Circlestone Ruin. The hike from the base camp to the ruin is just over 2 miles and climbs a thousand feet. The map shows the path of the Circlestone Trail from Forest Trail #118 (The Fireline Trail) to the Ruin. The Project team mapped this steep segment of trail; we believe this is the only published map of the trail to the ruin.
A Hohokam Ruin?
Looking West Toward the Red Mountain Campus and Phoenix
The Circlestone Ruin is geographically placed on a knoll just below the summit of Mound Mountain, the highest point in the Superstition Mountains. Mound Mountain is 6266 feet in elevation, and Circlestone is at 6010 feet. Looking west from the ruin, one can not only view the equinox sun set on Tortilla Mountain (See Azimuth Map), but you also look directly down on the city of Phoenix, 45 miles away.
The city of the fiery bird has arisen from the ashes of the Hohokam civilization. This map shows the view window between the Usery Mountains and the Superstition Mountain onto the desert basin. The ancient Hohokam pueblos and their amazing irrigation system (much of which is still in use by SRP today) is layered over the metro street grid. The photo in the upper left-hand corner of the map was taken in 2003 and shows Tempe Town Lake reflecting in the sun. Unfortunately, pollution obscures the Phoenix valley most of the time today.
The Red Mountain campus of Mesa Community College is also centered in the view window. The project team was unable to attempt signaling between the campus and the ruin, but without modern light pollution, the signaling between Circlestone and the Hohokam's Pueblo Grande at night would have been easily possible. The half-circle structures on the west side of the ruin (see Azimuth Map) may have been signal fire structures, but without digging, there is no way to confirm that speculation. Whatever the case is, the Circlestone Ruin is strategically placed to see down into the Salt River Valley onto the desert basin.
Stacy Peterson, an Honors Program math major, calculated the volume of the fallen rock to estimate the original height of the outer circle and the spoke walls. The map indicates the average original wall heights of different sections..
One of the first questions everyone asks when confronted with the Circlestone ruin is, "Was the ruin some kind of calendar akin to Medicine Wheel, Wyoming, or even Stonehenge?" After accurately mapping the ruin, sun alignments do appear to be suggested.
Satellite imagery shows the flat portion of the east wall of the ruin is very close to a north/south alignment. Earlier maps had a 14-degree declination miscalculation in their representation of the ruin. The 1984 and 2003 maps show the flat side of the circle at a NE/SW angle (See the upper left corner of the main map; the first map to the left in this series). Because of this miscalculation, astronomical alignments did not appear that likely. A 2003 Spring Equinox sunset photo did suggest a horizon alignment. The sun sets directly on top of Tortilla Mountain in the photograph on the above Azimuth map, which was taken from the ruin on March 21, 2003. With the use of satellite photos to create the 2006 Project maps, solstice alignments now appear probable. Solstice sunrises may have been marked or measured by the straight portion of the east wall; the interior east spoke appears to align with the equinox sunrise.
No one knows who built Circlestone or when it was built. Speculations include various Native American groups as a ritual site, the Spanish or Mexicans as a sheep corral, and even a Celtic circle built by Elijah Reavis the famous Hermit of the Superstitions. The geographic position of the ruin and the apparent astronomical alignments now imply that the ruin was most likely a Native American site akin to a Medicine Wheel. The next map in this series, the “View Window from the Circlestone Ruin,” demonstrates a possible relationship to the Hohokam civilization
Prehistoric Ruins abound in the Superstition Mountain Wilderness Area. The ruins located around Circlestone appear to be predominately Hohokam and Salado. Pottery shards and tools are present at many ruins, and most are habitations. Petroglyphs can be found throughout the wilderness.
The sites plotted on this map are all recorded in the Tonto National Forest Archeological Archives. There are surely many more sites, since most are recorded near trails. The trails in the Superstitions probably follow routes used by ancient people. Therefore, the habitations depicted here are most likely representative of geographic habitation patterns.
The US Forest Service defines a Wilderness Area as: "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Wilderness is a modern idea. Clearly the upper Superstitions were once the home of many people.
Today, disturbing any historic or prehistoric site is prohibited in the Wilderness Area Act, and visitors have a serious obligation to leave all sites undisturbed. Adopt a NO TRACE ethic in our wilderness areas.
While researching the Tonto National Archeological Archives to identify the recorded ruins within a 5-mile radius of Circlestone, History student, Chris Allen, found another stone circle recorded as "Paradise Spring Overlook." The site was recorded by Charles Vernon on 4/15/93. In his report, he wrote: "Site is very similar to the well-known Circlestone site to the southeast, but not nearly as well defined. . . . Similarity to Circlestone indicates the possibility that it too, was a ceremonial site."
This site is authorized and maintained by Bruce Peterson. It is not an official website of the Maricopa Community College District, and Maricopa is not responsible for the content of this site.
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