The site layout was confirmed with a rainbow of spray paintMouse over photos for captions

The Sacred Circle is a ceremonial fire pit, built by Hammerhead Stoneworks Inc. on the outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina.    

Construction started with the drystone walls. Mason Gary Wilson works beneath the winter shelter. Masons Fred Lashley and Jonathan Frederick (not pictured) round out the Hammerhead crew and contributed their talents to completing the Scared Circle.It is forty-five feet in diameter and required over 50 tons of stone to construct. Used as a sacred gathering place for a diverse community of spiritual practices, it can accommodate groups of well over one hundred people.

The seating walls are 18 inches tall. They are built using drystone construction methods, though the caps are mortared in place for stability.Sandstone from Tennessee is used for the drystone walls, seating caps, and the majority of the flagstone paving.

Rays of Absolute Black radiate from the fire pit to site boulders placed at the cardinal compass points.

Immediately surrounding the fire ring, Pennsylvania bluestone and countertop scraps create a celestial design, depicting our solar system from multiple perspectives.

Tennessee sandstone walls and flagstone frame the ceremonial area, closest to the fire pit. Absolute Black granite rays lead towards the center, where colorful planets of stone float in a Pennsylvania Bluestone matrix.Built in the winter of 2013-14, this is Hammerhead’s largest project to date. Encompassing all of their craftsmanship and aesthetic ideals, it is a community gathering space as well as a beautiful and enduring work of functional art.

Mars and Jupiter, scrap countertops transformed into planets, float in a sky of Pennsylvania bluestone. The seams that make up the orbit of each planet are slightly beveled; from certain angles, one can see the arc they follow around the sun. Pluto makes an appearance in the upper left of this photo as a small, icy white orb with an odd elliptical orbit.Hammerhead Stoneworks is the design and construction company of mason Marc Archambault.

Founded in 2009, Hammerhead provides highly crafted stone work, and creative artistry to discerning customers in Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding region. 

Visit www.hammerheadstoneworks.com for more information on this project.