Just realized something after reading about a dig in my own state

I read a short article about a highway project near Boise that uncovered some old stone tools, and they just paved right over the site. It made me wonder how much history we lose every day without even knowing it. Has anyone else had a local find that made them look at their own area differently?

4 comments

4 Comments

victorh812mo ago

Actually been part of a local group that watches for this stuff. You can call your state's historic preservation office when any big dig starts. Sometimes they send an observer if the area looks sensitive. It's not about stopping progress, just checking first. That Boise find proves we often don't know what's there until we look. How many towns have a volunteer group like that?

ruby_jones2mo ago

Is it really lost history if we never knew it was there? We can't save every single thing, and a road helps people now. It just feels like a bigger deal than it is.

jana_jones2d ago

Had a friend up in Montana who watched them build a whole Walmart without checking. They found an old Native American burial ground when they dug for the foundation... work got halted for months. Just a quick look first would have saved everyone a headache.

viola_allen2mo ago

That "helps people now" line from @ruby_jones is the whole problem, isn't it? We always pick the short-term fix and then wonder why we have no roots. What do we lose by not even looking for what's under the ground first?