Puebloan archaeological site buried for safekeeping

David DeMille | The (St. George, Utah) Spectrum

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The excavated site of an unusual ancestral Puebloan pit house was reburied last week, closing the book on a recent effort to solve its mysteries but leaving open opportunities for future researchers.

After a four-month excavation, archaeologists discovered clues pointing to various uses and potential eras of habitation of the house, discovered last year just behind a backyard fence in Dammeron Valley. A bone awl was dated to 500 years ago, but researchers also found evidence of corn farming going back 1,500 years.

They learned little about who might have lived in the house, or for how long, and they are unsure when it was abandoned.

“It’s like this unopened book of knowledge that maybe we can open later with new eyes and new techniques,” said Greg Woodall, an archaeological consultant and member of the Dixie Archaeological Society.

Crews lined the house with Geotextile fabric to preserve the walls and floor, then carefully backfilled the hole to protect it from erosion.

The move is part of a coordinated conservation effort between archaeologists, state officials and a private developer, something that Woodall said he hopes becomes more common.

Surveyors first identified the site as they passed through ahead of a planned residential development, encountering a scattering of stone chippings, bone fragments and other telltale signs.

Brooks Pace, who is working on a development plan with the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, said he hated to see something that could have such historical significance “turned into a swimming pool” as part of the new development.

Instead, he agreed to hand over the site to the Archaeological Conservancy, a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving significant archaeological sites.

Now, instead of being buried under a new 21st-century house, the site will be kept underground with interpretive signage and other materials above ground as a kind of outdoor museum.

Chaz Evans, southwest region field representative with the conservancy, said during a recent tour of the site that he hoped to return someday later with better technology to learn more about the house.

Before it was backfilled, the site was carefully cataloged, with any found artifacts taken for dating and storage.

“You can’t stop progress, but the people who care about history enough to preserve it are going to allow people in 100 years, 200 years to come back here,” Evans said.

Arch and Laura Brown, members of the Grand Canyon Association and visitors to Southern Utah, donated the cost of the backfilling and interpretive sign after hearing about the site.

Pace has been nominated for a State History Award to recognize his willingness to donate the site.