Solving the Riddle of the Rock Piles: The first layers author Jim Willis and his wife removed from rock piles on their property seemed to consist of large stones piled on top of one another roughly in the shape of a circle…
The deeper we went, the smaller the rocks became. If these piles were agricultural in nature one would think that they would show just the opposite tendency. The usual custom involves placing the big ones in a convenient location and gradually adding smaller stones as the pile grows taller. The location of the biggest rocks in the field would tend to mark where the piles would be in the first place. Why move the biggest ones when you can just build around them?
[Read Part 1 Here]
This brings up another point - location. Many of the rock piles in our area are found near the top of a ridge, usually facing east toward the rising sun. This might be because it doesn’t make a lot of sense to roll rocks all the way down a hill if you’re planning to use them later. You would probably want to just clear the part you might later be plowing. That’s usually the flat top. But while we were working we couldn't help but notice that it was often very pleasant to just sit and admire the view of the valley below. They offered a very nice working environment.