The Round Tower

At first glance, the Round Tower in the park at Newport in Rhode Island looked like just that, a round tower of stones.
Nothing extraordinary and in fact, I wondered why the bus had stopped here in this park to let us out to look at it.
(We were just starting a tour of sites that included places where the prophet and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had lived and worked.)
I gazed at the structure and tried to make sense of it in my mind when a middle-aged, slightly greying man rushed up to us. He was out of breath and clearly excited.
"I'm so glad to see you all here. Let me tell you a few things about this place," he said. "I own the museum across the street and I have studied this tower for years. There's some incredible things to know about this."
He went on to point out the skylights and slit windows that allowed the sunlight and moonlight to come in at very specific angles during the equinox, the solstice and multiple astronomic times in the year.
Also known as the Touro Tower,  the Newport Stone Templar Tower and the Old Stone Mill, many considered it the remains of an old windmill at Truro Park.
It originally consisted of three stories of stone but was used as a munitions storage place during the American Revolution and lost the third story when it was blown up.
We were to hear about the archeoastronomy of the tower from our tour leader but this guy obviously knew tons more about it than our leader did.
His name is James Alan Eagan, he is curator of the museum and the author of several books about what he believes is one of America's oldest and most interesting secrets.
He showed us the patterns and the hidden secrets of the tower which he maintains is a horologium and camera obscura designed by John Dee in colonial America. (The website tells all about him and the tower: http://newporttowermuseum.com)
He explained how the whole thing was actually a standing camera and an astronomer's tool.
His museum was fascinating as well, a cubbyhole full of scientific tidbits that made us feel like we were kids in a candy store.
It's a lesson in never assuming anything is just what it appears to be.