That was no sinkhole, that was a well, Boston city archaeologist Joe Bagley told a press gaggle at Ronan Park this morning, the Dorchester Reporter reports.
Ronan Park was originally part of Mary L. Pierce's estate before the city of Boston acquired the land in 1912, the Reporter adds. Why the well suddenly opened up is another question, but no, it was not a portal for demons from hell or the work of rodents of unusual size.
The city will now fill the 16-foot-deep hole so that nobody falls down it.
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Comments
makes more sense
By cinnamngrl
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:14pm
It was pretty regular in shape to be a natural sink hole. It must have been covered over instead of filled in.
It may have been filled in
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 4:12pm
2016 and 2020 have been rough on groundwater levels. Given that it would have been filled a century or more ago? No suprise if it dropped through the bottom during dry times.
Nope.
By dmcboston
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 10:31pm
"Bagley said recent heavy rains likely uncovered and pushed loose soil into the well, which had become exposed due to a failed stone or wooden cover. "
It was never filled, just covered, only 6 1/2 feet deep and lined with cobblestones.
Thanks
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 11:13pm
But didn't somebody measure the hole as being 16 feet deep.
At least there isn't an Oak Island scenario going on here.
The first story had it at 40
By dmcboston
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 11:21pm
Ya, the always truthful Twitter story called it at 40 feet. Which, quite frankly, scared the hell out of me because if it's that deep, how wide is it?
Just what the [i]hell[/i] are you standing on? A shelf?
All's well that ends well.
By Ishmael Jones
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:26pm
All's well that ends well.
Well, well, well.
By Don't Panic
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:33pm
Well, well, well.
Who lived at the bottom of the hill?
But you just can't fill it!!
By anon
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 12:30pm
But you just can't fill it!! There's a whole unknown procedure you have to follow! You don't just start filling it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not without determining whether it's a sinkhole
By Tim Mc.
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 6:01pm
and that determination has now been made.
EDIT: Haha, this is actually covered right there in the article:
FILL being the operative word
By anon
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 6:39pm
FILL being the operative word.
I like the 'taped iPhone' trick.
By dmcboston
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 10:30pm
Sounds like a [i]well[/i]-funded operation...
Obtuse is more than just an
By brianjdamico
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 4:46pm
Obtuse is more than just an angle.
That sounds exactly the
By Notfromboston
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 2:01pm
That sounds exactly the quality of Boston ISD.
Parks Department Actually
By John Costello
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 2:09pm
But go ahead, let the hate flow on something that happened 108 years ago.
I think in this case
By RichM
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 3:54pm
the city has done an excellent job of giving us the hole truth.
Was it even the parks department?
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 4:10pm
Or did the original landowner fill it in?
In any case, we have had two cycles of drought that substantially impacted groundwater levels in the past 5 years and I would lay odds that this played a role in subsidence of whatever fill was put in there 100+ years ago.
"Improvised"
By perruptor
Fri, 12/11/2020 - 8:02am
They could start by getting one of the many cellphone tripod mounts available, which would be a trivial matter to attach to a readily-available telescoping painter's pole without tape. An LED headlight would provide illumination. They're available all over the place, too. I'm sure there are some purpose-built devices available for big bucks, which is what we'll probably wind up paying for.
"Boston city archaeologist"
By SamWack
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 5:08pm
Yeah, sure. I would like to point out that this is just the kind of position in which Lucifer places his minions.
Notice how we haven't unearthed a city god yet?
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 12/10/2020 - 11:16pm
Philly must not have had an archeologist.
We don't need a Boston version of Gritty.
Our God watches us from the
By Don't Panic
Sun, 12/13/2020 - 11:06am
Our God watches us from the great blue Hill. Our goddess was decapitated with beacon hill. She rests on the esplanade. Irish Catholic from Roxbury.
Kudos to whoever here
By Constance Hirsch
Fri, 12/11/2020 - 8:29am
Kudos to whoever here previously suggested that it might be an old well!
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