Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

The White archeological site is situated on private property, and is not open to the public.  It has been designated as a heritage archeological site by the Potton Heritage Association, but enjoys no official designation by any other authority.  Permission must be obtained from the proprietor before visiting.

The White site is not defined, but is rather an area situated within the woods, at about one kilometer from Chemin White, where around one hundred cairns of a curious size and composition are randomly located over a ten acre area and are in curious proximity each to the other.  These rock cairns appear to have been carefully constructed in a circular fashion, and each has a quartz rock at the top.  Other similar stone mounds have been located in this Township and exist in many other areas of the Eastern Townships.

“ A formal archaeological investigation of several stone mounds in Mansonville was undertaken during the summer of 1988 with archaeologist Jean-Pierre Roset, from the Université de Bordeaux (and Gérard Leduc).  The aims of this research were to establish the origin, the purpose and date of construction (…). »  Charcoal recovered from under the two cairns studied date from around 1500 AD.  “ No identifiable artefacts that could be related to known early civilizations of this continent were recovered from our excavations. »^[1]

“Cairn“ is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile (mound or stack) of stones.  The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic cà rn (plural cà irn).  Cairns are found the world over.  They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills; and in complexity, from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering.  In modern times, cairns are often erected as landmarks, a use they've had since ancient times.  Since pre-history, they have also been built as sepulchral monuments, or used for defensive, hunting, ceremonial, astronomical and other purposes.

Gérard Leduc's complete article 'Potton on the Rock' appears in Volume VIII of Yesterdays of Brome County, pages 147-156, printed in 1991.  In it he points out certain alignments of these cairns with the rising of the sun, particularly at the time of the winter solstice.  Very interesting reading.  He also authored folders for the Potton Heritage Association, one of which is called “ Les Cairns – Cairns ».