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MISSION STATEMENT
The Gungywamp Society, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit educational research organization which conducts
excavations and tours in the Gungywamp complex, located in Groton,
Connecticut. We also include information
about other archaeological and
historical sites in
Connecticut and elsewhere. The Gungywamp Society is dedicated to the preservation of archaeologically and historically significant sites.
The Gungywamp Society holds to professional and scholarly research standards and maintains association with Connecticut's
state archaeologist and with other
professional archaeological organizations.
We are pleased that as
of June, 2009, the Gungywamp Society's artifacts and
document materials were removed from a former researcher's
home and are now located at the Connecticut State
Archaeologist's Office at the University of Connecticut in
Storrs. This has been our longstanding goal and part
of our mission to preserve the many artifacts and document
material in a centralized, professional setting. Our
many thanks to our state archaeologist Dr. Nicholas
Bellantoni for his diligent work in having the Gungywamp
Society's artifacts and document materials placed under his
care.
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Please Do NOT Call the Gungywamp
Board Members & Researchers for Tour
Information! Please Contact the Denison
Pequotsepos Nature Center for Their Schedule
of Tours. Thank You!
Board Members
& Researchers
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Paulette Buchanan
Educator, Historian, Researcher
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William J. Dopirak
College Professor in Natural
Sciences, Researcher
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Melodye Whatley
Researcher
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Jack Rajotte
Contributing Researcher
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Treasury Committee
Scott Buchanan
Melodye Whatley
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Consultant
Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni,
Connecticut State Archaeologist
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Announcement Regarding False Chat Room & Web Site
Statements:
A cyberstalker falsely claims that Gungywamp board members and researchers
are banned from entering, conducting digs, or giving tours of the Gungywamp sites, and that they
are guilty of criminal trespass and of theft. In reality, and since the 1970s, Gungywamp board members and
researchers continue to be warmly welcomed by all of the private owners of the Gungywamp properties
for conducting tours and digs of the sites found in the Gungywamp properties. For proof of this
fact, see the YMCA letter granting permission to tour and work in the Gungywamp sites.
The cyberstalker has
also falsely claimed to have won lawsuits
against those he is harassing, when in fact he
has lost his lawsuits and his victims have never
been ordered by any court to pay anyone any
dollar amount. There is a Connecticut
harassment arrest warrant issued against the
cyberstalker. For more police and court documents on the cyberstalker see: www.ministrywarning.com
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Gungywamp in the News:
Gungywamp Society researcher Bill Dopirak
gives a Gungywamp tour for Connecticut Public
Broadcasting:
http://www.cpbn.org/gungy-what
Carol Kimball, historical researcher
and writer for the Day newspaper in New
London, Connecticut, writes of Gungywamp
memories:
Stonewatch 2008 article by Carol
Kimball
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In 2009 Gungywamp
Society researchers Scott and Paulette
Buchanan gave a tour of the Gungywamp
sites to historian Susan
Sutherland, member of the Groton Open
Space Association. Much
of the colonial and Early American
structures in the Gungywamp indicate
that the area was used for sheep
farming. Ms. Sutherland wrote an article about another
sheep farm about five miles away from the Gungywamp complex which has similar stone
structures as are found in the Gungywamp. Ms. Sutherland's article is
entitled Colonial
History: The Sheep Farm, Early Edgecomb Family and Fort Hill Brook Industrial
Sites
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TOUR INFORMATION
Due to the many requests
for tours that the Gungywamp Society
researchers have received, we are pleased to
announce that we have teamed up with the
Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in
Mystic, Connecticut, to
conduct tours of the Gungywamp
sites!
Please see our link below for the
Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center
contact information.
We give a hearty "thank
you!" to the private landowners of the Gungywamp area for their continued
generosity and hospitality (since 1979!) in
allowing the Gungywamp Society and the
Denison Pequotesepos Nature Center to
conduct research and give
tours of the Gungywamp sites!
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Things To Know Before Making Tour Arrangements (Please Read
Completely!)
We offer this web site and tour
information for the Gungywamp area so as to provide
historical and archaeological
information to
those interested in the preservation of
Native American, colonial and
Early American sites.
Because there is WAY too much
misinformation about the Gungywamp sites on the Internet, it is
important for historical accuracy and preservation purposes that
the facts be presented clearly. First of all, Gungywamp is
a Native American (Algonquin) name and is similar to other
well-known Native American words and names throughout the
region. Gungywamp is NOT a Celtic word and does
NOT mean "church of the people." There is no authentic
linguistic connection of the name "Gungywamp" to any other
language group other than Native American Algonquin.
Also, there is NO
evidence within any part of the Gungywamp
area that there was ever any
pre-Columbian Celtic or Norse (Viking)
occupation. No Ogham or Celtic
inscriptions in stone nor any European
Bronze Age artifacts have ever
been found in the Gungywamp area.
There are no "ancient Indian stone temples" in the Gungywamp
area since it
is a well known fact that nomadic and semi-nomadic Native
Americans in the region did not construct temples of
hewn or field stone (the colonial and Early American stone
foundations, mill site, stone chambers, etc., in the Gungywamp
area are not "ancient Indian stone temples"). All artifact and
document research gives evidence of only paleo and woodland
Native American, European
colonial and European post-colonial/Early American
occupation. With this in
mind, please do
not request a tour asking volunteer tour
guides to show you the
"ancient Celtic, Norse, Egyptian,
Phoenician, UFO," etc. sites or "ancient Native
American stone temple sites" because
these do not exist in the Gungywamp area.
Lastly, the Gungywamp Society is in
no way linked or associated with pagan, Wiccan or any other ritual or religious groups
or beliefs. Contrary to
what certain kinds of web sites and individuals depict about the Gungywamp area, there are no
ancient Druid, pagan or Wiccan ritual sites
in the Gungywamp complex. Nor are there any "mystical powers" or
paranormal "energies" emanating from any of the Gungywamp sites or the area. Slight electromagnetic fields exist in
the Gungywamp as in many other parts of
the world and they are due to
natural occurrences in the Earth (such
as iron deposits found in the Gungywamp
area). In short, we do not
represent or encourage any kind of religious/spiritual or paranormal
interpretation of the Gungywamp area, so please do not request a
tour of the Gungywamp sites expecting these interpretations to be
presented by volunteer tour guides.
The Gungywamp Society is strictly a volunteer archaeological organization which promotes
historically authenticated archaeological research and which seeks to preserve the land and sites of the Gungywamp area
because of their proven historical value. We support and work in conjunction with other
professional organizations which likewise practice objective archaeological and historical research.
Take a
Virtual Tour
of the Gungywamp!
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Gungywamp
Stonewatch Newsletters
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