Dighton Rock

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3rd Ave
Berkley, MA

(41.8129196,-71.1104584)

Directions

You may visit the museum only by appointment.

https://www.mass.gov/locations/dighton-rock-state-park
All Destinations Extraordinary Rocks Native American History

Dighton Rock is an 11 foot long, 9 1/2 foot wide 40 ton boulder inscribed with Native American Petroglyphs. The boulder was originally located on the East bank of the Taunton River and was moved to it’s present location inside a small museum in Dighton Rock State Park during the 20th century. While the original intent of the inscription is uncertain, Manitonquat, an elder of the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag tribe told Petroglyph researcher Edward J Lenik that the petroglyphs convey a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of tribal members turning away from native spirituality and adopting Western culture.

Prominent in Dighton Rock’s story is a long history of pseudo scientific, often quite racist attempts to credit the petroglyphs to European artists as detailed in the book The Place of Stone: Dighton Rock and the Erasure of America’s Indigenous Past by Douglas Hunter. More recently, the “mystery” of Dighton Rock has been promoted online to generate clicks and ad revenue.