OFF THE GRID

The September/October issue of Archaeology magazine includes a mention of the Newark Earthworks in the short feature "Off the Grid." This feature spotlights the favorite site of a particular archaeologist – especially a site that the archaeologist thinks might be a bit underappreciated. I was chosen to give my favorite for this issue and a writer for the magazine talked to me at length. Only a short "sound bite" appears in the article, however, so I thought I'd share a few of the questions I was asked in the course of the interview and my answers.

Archaeology: Why do you consider this one of your favorite sites?

BTL: The Newark Earthworks is my favorite site because of its grandeur and complexity -- and because of its rich history. Covering more than four square miles, the monumental architecture creates a ceremonial landscape that encodes remarkably sophisticated geometrical and astronomical knowledge we're only just beginning to decipher. And we're able to decipher it only because the early citizens of Newark and Licking County found creative ways to incorporate major elements of this ancient architecture into their own 19th century landscape.

Archaeology: What were the "creative ways" that the early citizens of Newark and Licking County found to preserve these earthworks?

BTL: Long before there was a National Park system or any notion that the state would preserve important cultural or natural wonders, Newark residents turned the Great Circle into the county fairgrounds -- with the earthworks listed as one of the main attractions. The Octagon (with its attached circle) was saved by the local citizens of Newark and Licking County who agreed (overwhelmingly) to a tax increase so that the earthworks could be bought and handed over to the state for use as the Encampment for the State Militia (National Guard). When the militia left, they leased it to Moundbuilders County Club to manage as a park and golf course. As a result, Newark is the only place where you can go today to see intact geometric earthworks on this scale. Other communities, such as Circleville (named for the giant circular earthwork connected to a square enclosure) built over the earthworks. Nothing is left except the name to commemorate the fact that there was ever a circular earthwork there.

Archaeology: Why do you think the Newark Earthworks site is underappreciated?

BTL: First of all, the burial mounds at Newark were mostly destroyed by the growth of the City of Newark during the 19th century, so none were excavated by archaeologists. As a result, nearly all the iconic artifacts of the Hopewell culture come from sites around Chillicothe or Cincinnati. So, when you go to museums or read books about the Hopewell, you seldom see Newark featured at all prominently because there are few artifacts available to tell the story. Ironically, possibly the most evocative Hopewell artifact I've ever seen, a small stone sculpture of a person wearing ceremonial bear regalia, the so-called "Wray figurine," is often pictured, but usually without reference to the fact that it was found at Newark. (As a corrective, I prefer to call this remarkable sculpture the "Shaman of Newark" to situate the artifact, and the special person depicted, in the place where it was found.) Secondly, Newark is the farthest north of any of the major Hopewell earthworks, so rather than being located in the "Hopewell heartland," it's off on the periphery. Third, since the City of Newark engulfed the Newark Earthworks, many people have simply assumed, quite wrongly, that the earthworks were destroyed. There are even people who make the ridiculous claim that the Great Circle and the Octagon Earthworks are modern recreations built in the 1930s by the WPA. Finally, the Octagon Earthworks is managed today by a private country club, so lots of folks get the impression that it's not also open to the general public. If you don't feel welcome, you won't visit the site.

CONNECTING STONEHENGE WITH THE NEWARK EARTHWORKS

Ray Picton, deputy headteacher at Greentrees Primary School in Salisbury, England, came to Newark as part of a Fulbright teacher exchange program in 2006.

In a recent article in "Engaging Places" he recounts his experiences here and the benefits of educational programs that link the Newark Earthworks with Stonehenge:

http://www.engagingplaces.org.uk/teaching+and+learning/art62761

Caption: Ray Picton at Newark Earthworks Day 2008. Mary Borgia is sitting on the floor with her students in the background. (Photo taken by Tim Black for the Newark Earthworks Center.)

OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOINS WITH TWO REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO MANAGE PREMIER OHIO NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Three of Ohio's foremost earthworks, including two that are soon to be nominated as World Heritage Sites, will be open to the public more hours thanks to new operating arrangements with two regional organizations. The Ohio Historical Society will enter into management agreements with Arc of Appalachia Preserve System for Serpent Mound in Adams County and Fort Hill in Highland County and with the Dayton Society of Natural History for Fort Ancient in Warren County.

In the Ohio Historical Society network of 58 historic sites and museums - one of the largest of any state historical organization in the nation - 37 sites will now be operated through management agreements between the Society and a local organization or government entity. The Society intends to operate a total of 47 sites under management agreements.

"Management agreements have become increasingly important because of the combination of long-term underinvestment by the state in the Ohio Historical Society and the recent pressure of state budget cuts," Society Executive Director William K. Laidlaw, Jr. said. "We are looking at this model to operate the majority of our historic sites and museums to increase access to historic sites and museums. It should provide for increased community support and enable the site to continue to be a source of community pride."

Under such agreements, the Ohio Historical Society typically provides an annual financial subsidy to a local organization to help underwrite the costs of day-to-day site operations, which primarily includes providing visitor services, educational and interpretive programs and basic maintenance. The management group keeps income from admissions, program fees and rentals. The Society will continue to provide major maintenance and professional resources as well as administer capital improvement projects. Managed sites remain a vital part of the OHS network of historic sites and museums.

After receiving comments from stakeholders and community members at public meetings July 8 for Serpent Mound and Fort Hill and July 14 for Fort Ancient and taking into consideration the best interests of all three historic sites, the OHS Board of Trustees has approved management agreements with the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and the Dayton Society of Natural History.

"We selected the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and Dayton Society of Natural History because of their experience in managing archaeological properties and museums and their strong commitment to preservation," Laidlaw said. "By teaming up with both these organizations, these great Native American earthworks can be open more hours and provide more educational programs and special events."

Serpent Mound and Fort Hill

The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System will assume operational management of both sites beginning August 1. An educational 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located near Bainbridge, Ohio, the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System works to preserve the native biodiversity of the eastern temperate forest, of which Fort Hill is a prime example. In 2007, it assured the preservation of Spruce Hill, an important Hopewell hilltop enclosure in Ross County, by working with several partners to purchase it.

Serpent Mound State Memorial is an internationally known prehistoric site that is more than a 1,000 years old. Atop a bluff overlooking the Ohio Brush Creek valley, Serpent Mound is the largest and finest serpent effigy in the United States. Nearly a quarter of a mile long, Serpent Mound apparently represents an uncoiling serpent. It is attributed to what is called the Fort Ancient culture. A public park for more than a century, Serpent Mound attracts visitors from all over the world. The museum contains exhibits on the effigy mound and the geology of the surrounding area. The site will be nominated by the United States to the prestigious World Heritage list, which is maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Under the new management, Serpent Mound's museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning August 1 through Labor Day. During September and October, it will be open weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking fees will remain $7 per personal vehicle. Ohio Historical Society Members will be admitted for free. Educational programming and events, such as guided walks, will be scheduled. The state memorial is located on State Route 73, six miles north of State Route 32 and 20 miles south of Bainbridge in Adams County. For more information, call 800.752.2757 or visit http://www.ohiohistory.org/.

Fort Hill State Memorial is a nature preserve containing one of the best preserved Indian hilltop enclosures in North America. Native Americans, now known as the Hopewell culture (100 B.C.-A.D. 500) constructed the 1 1/2 mile long earthwork hilltop enclosure as well as at least two ceremonial buildings and probably a village in the Ohio Brush Creek valley below. Lying at the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau, immediately south of the glacial boundary, this hilly area contains an impressive diversity of bedrock, soils, flora, and fauna. There are 11 miles of hiking trails at the 1,200 acre preserve as well as a picnic area and a small museum about the earthworks and the area's natural history.

Under the new management, Fort Hill will continue to be open year-round weather permitting with closures during deer season and severe winter weather conditions. Entrance to the park will continue to be free. The museum will reopen in June of 2010 during summer weekends. The Arc of Appalachia is looking for volunteers to open the museum weekends beginning August 1 through October. People interested in volunteering may contact the Arc of Appalachia at museum@highlandssanctuary.org. Events, such as guided walks, are in the process of being planned.

Fort Hill is located off of State Route 41 on Township Road 256, five miles north of Sinking Springs and three miles south of Cynthiana in Highland County. For more information, call 800.283.8905 or visit http://www.ohiohistory.org/.

Fort Ancient

The Dayton Society of Natural History will take over daily operations of Fort Ancient beginning August 1. Its mission is to educate and enlighten all people of the region about the wonders of the world through the work of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and the SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park. Located in Dayton, it is a regional institution serving nine counties, including Warren County where Fort Ancient is located.

Fort Ancient State Memorial preserves historic earthworks that are 2,000 years old. Located on a bluff above the Little Miami River, they consist of 3.5 miles of earth walls that range from 4 to 23 feet in height and enclose about 100 acres. Prehistoric people now known as the Hopewell culture (100 B.C.-A.D. 500) built and used Fort Ancient as a place of ceremonial and social gatherings. A thousand years later the area was occupied by members of the Fort Ancient culture. The site will be nominated by the United States to the prestigious World Heritage list, which is maintained by UNESCO.

Fort Ancient will be open April through November, six days a week, closed on Monday. Hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The site will be open weekends from December through March. Hours will be Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Visitors may also make arrangements to visit by special appointment. School groups will be accommodated during the closed season. Admission to the park and museum will be $6 for adults (ages 18 to 59), $5 seniors (age 60+) and $4 for children (ages 6-12). Children 5 and under will be free. Admission to the park only is $8 per vehicle. Ohio Historical Society and Dayton Society of Natural History members will be admitted for free.

The state memorial is located in Warren County, approximately 20 minutes north of King's Island, off Interstate 71. For more information, call 800.283.8904 or visit http://www.ohiohistory.org/.

Article courtesy of Ohio Histore-news http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/enews/

Archaeological Field Schools Get the Dig On for Summer 2009

In addition to its world-class archaeology, natural history and history collections, the Ohio Historical Society is steward to a statewide system of prestigious historic and prehistoric sites - second only to the National Park Service in type and variety of locations. Among the more notable of OHS properties are Fort Ancient in Warren County and the Piqua Historical Area in Miami County.

This summer significant archaeological research will be undertaken at both places to better understand the sites' purpose and function and/or events that occurred there in the past. Field work is particularly labor intensive and it is often the case that it is preformed during the summer season by college and university students, under their instructor's direction. Many hands make the work go faster. Summer schools offer both a foundation in the discipline of archaeology for the students and a chance for the Ohio Historical Society to learn more about their holdings.

Fort Ancient Field School Uncovers Ancient History

Fort Ancient in Warren County is a hilltop enclosure consisting of nearly 3.5 miles of earthen walls that range from 4 to 23 feet in height. They encircle a high bluff above the Little Miami River near Oregonia. The earthwork walls are broken by more than 80 irregularly spaced gaps or "gateways," the purpose of which is not particularly well understood. Fort Ancient was constructed approximately 2,000 years ago by the Hopewell culture.

In 2004, OHS received a Save America's Treasures grant to do erosion control and restoration at various locations throughout the site. Preliminary to actual construction, affected areas were surveyed with geophysical instruments designed to see what might be located below the surface in a given area without actually having to dig exploratory excavations. The results come back as sub-surface anomalies that can be individually investigated.

In 2005, a series of anomalies in the northern portion of the site turned out to be perhaps one of the most significant discoveries of its type in the past several decades. The geophysical data indicated there was some sort of very large pit feature with a very high magnetic signature at the center of what appeared to be a 200-foot diameter wooden-post enclosure, or henge, with a single out-turned opening or gateway just a few degrees off from due south. Inside the henge there are at least two of what was been interpreted as house structures or perhaps ceremonial floors.

In 2006, Dr. Robert Riordon, students from Wright State University and selected volunteers began an ongoing investigation of what became known as the Moorehead Circle, named in honor of Warren King Moorehead, former curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society and an early investigator of Fort Ancient. In fact, it was largely through his efforts that the state legislature was made aware of the site's importance and Fort Ancient being set aside as Ohio's first archaeology reserve.

The past four field seasons at Fort Ancient have revealed that the large central pit was filled with soil burned at a high enough temperature to turn it bright brick red. However, it appears that it had been burned at some other location, scooped up and gleaned of any foreign material, including charcoal, and redeposited in the pit at the center of the circle. Surrounding the central-pit feature is a shallow ring-shaped feature that contains a sizeable number of pottery fragments and small flint artifacts. The henge that surrounds the site was tested in two places and it was found that the posts used in its construction were of a large diameter (up to 12 inches) and placed with fairly regular spacing. Most were deeply set and held in place with up to 200 pounds of stone chinking. The slip trenches used to erect the posts, their large diameters and the amount of stone needed to hold them in place indicates that the posts were likely of a telephone-pole size - architecture on a truly monumental scale.

Work on the interior of the circle begun last year and continuing at present indicates a single large or complex set of smaller limestone slab plazas inside the south side of the circle possibly associated with the supposed house structures. To complicate things even further, it would appear that these plaza features were cross cut by a series of shallow, squared trenches some time after their original construction.

What does it all mean? It is far too early to connect all the dots, so to speak, and it will probably take many more field seasons of work to make a correct interpretation. An area of nearly 35,000 square feet and working just a few weeks a season makes work to understand the Moorehead Circle slow going.

Pickawillany Field School Enters Second Season

At Pickawillany, a part of the Piqua Historical Area, the rationale of investigation is the opposite of that at Fort Ancient. At Fort Ancient, investigators need to figure out what happened there. At Pickawillany, because several accounts of events that took place exist, the problem is not what happened, but where on the site did things in fact take place.

The site of Pickawillany, a combination Miami Indian town and English trading post from between 1748 and 1752, is located on a low bluff on the west side of the confluence of the Great Miami River and Loramie Creek, just north of Piqua in Miami County. In the middle of the 18th century, Pickawillany was at the eye of the storm in the international geopolitics of the day and events that transpired there were a foreshadowing of what would shortly become known as the French and Indian War. To understand its importance 257 years after the fact, it is necessary to put Pickawillany in its proper context.

Up until the mid-point of the 18th century, Pickawillany and the entire Ohio Country, that is, all that land north and west of the Ohio River and west of the Allegheny Mountains in general, was claimed under the sovereignty of the French. In 1747, Chief Memeskia of the Miami Indians was fully involved in a general rebellion of native tribes against the French. Incensed at the lack of proper tribute, Memeskia set fire to the French trading post of Fort Miamis (near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana), part of the principal Miami Indian town of Kekionga, and moved his village to Pickawillany where he openly invited the English to trade with the Miami and other western tribes. As a trading venture, Pickawillany flourished. Seeing the potential for French military intervention, the English built a stockade and blockhouse at Pickawillany for the protection of the traders and their goods. The explorer Christopher Gist visited Pickawillany in the winter of 1750-51 and recorded in his journal that it had 400 Indian families and was daily increasing and should be considered one of the strongest Indian towns on the continent. That same winter, the French militia leader, Charles Langlade, arrived to give Memeskia, who by then was being referred to as "Old Briton," an ultimatum to return to the French or else. Memeskia stood his ground. On June 21, 1752, the French militia and Ottawa Indian force stormed Pickawillany. They killed or captured all but two of the English traders, sacked the trading post and destroyed the Indian town. A wounded Old Briton was brought before Langlade where he was quickly executed. After this final event, the site lay mostly fallow for the next 250 years except for farming.

In 1999, the state of Ohio purchased 35 acres thought to contain the site of Pickawillany and incorporated the property into the Piqua Historical Area. OHS field work began at Pickawillany in 2002, trying to make sense of the property and what the historic layout might have been. Even to the trained observer the site looked a lot like every other crop field in western Ohio.

A comprehensive metal detector survey of the entire property was begun. This type of survey was based on National Park Service work at Custer Battlefield and, more locally, by Dr. G. Michael Pratt's work at Fallen Timbers Battlefield near Toledo. Detector surveys only function as hoped for on sites from the European contact period forward and don't work at all in purely prehistoric situations. The survey netted more than 1,000 artifacts that can be directly dated to the Pickawillany period, including musket balls and lead scrap, brass arrow points, metal jewelry and gun parts. This is out of the several thousand objects that included modern nails, fence wire and the like. The Pickawillany-age material seemed to make up one large and three or four smaller discreet concentrations, which could easily translate to the trader's stockade compound and their outlying work shop areas. From there we used the same instruments used at Fort Ancient looking for anomalies and trends in soil magnetism and electrical resistance. The point is that no matter which method was used the same areas continued to give the best returns.

As a final stage of investigation, a summer archaeology field school under the direction of Dr. Annette Ericksen of Hocking College in Nelsonville will return this summer for their second year to investigate the most promising anomalies looking for structural remains hoping to identify just where on the site the stockade and blockhouse may have been located. Perhaps the best case scenario would be to find the dug water well, which by just about all accounts was located inside the stockade.

At both Fort Ancient and Pickawillany, the research will be ongoing for the next several years. Archaeology done properly is a cumulative process and something that seems absolutely off the wall one year makes perfect sense after further work the next. In the end, a comprehensive report will be written and data recovered will allow for a more correct interpretation at each site giving the people of Ohio a better understanding of the people that came before them and events that shaped our collective history.

Visiting the Field Schools

Fort Ancient Field School will continue Monday–Friday through the first week in August. Visitors are welcome. Volunteering opportunities are handled through Dr. Riordon and Wright State University. For more information, call 800.283.8904.

The Pickawillany Field School will run July 20–August 6. Because of its relatively remote location, site visitation will be in a tourist group fashion. Tours will assemble at the museum and be transported to and from the site by canal boat. Public visiting days take place July 23 and July 30. For further information, call 800.752.2619.

Post courtesy of http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/enews/
Fort Ancient images courtesy of Joe Shaffer. Pickawillany images courtesy of Bill Pickard

CANAL LOCK EXCAVATIONS AT NEWARK

I spent half a day on Saturday volunteering at the excavation of a canal lock in Newark sponsored by The Works and directed by Allison Galbari. So far, excavators are removing layers of fill dumped into the lock over the years since its abandonment.

I was surprised at the abundance of historic artifacts in the fill. I worked on sifting buckets of excavated dirt through the screens. We found nails, broken glass bottles, pieces of ceramics, and other fragments of Newark’s past.

One of the best things about this project is that The Works recognized the opportunity to introduce kids to the science of archaeology in a setting of historical significance where everybody in every excavation unit is finding bits and pieces of their heritage. Being able to make this kind of direct, physical connection with your community’s past and, at the same time, contribute to telling a part of Newark's story for future generations can be a profoundly moving experience for kids of any age.

Opportunities to help out with the dig continue for the next two Saturdays (see the July 14 Blog for details), but even if you don't feel like getting dirty, stop by the excavation and say 'Hi' to the present and future archaeologists.

One of the highlights is the marvelous wall mural that makes it easy to visualize the historical context of the site and the importance of the canal for the City of Newark and the history of transportation in Ohio.

For information about how you can help, contact The Works at
http://www.attheworks.org/

Adult Archaeology Experience offered at "The Works" in Newark

The Works museum is offering an opportunity for adults (age 16 and older) to participate in an actual archaeological “dig” at the historic site of The Ohio & Erie Canal Lock #9 in downtown Newark. The dig will be held on three consecutive Saturdays, July 18, 25 and August 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day. Attendees can sign up for one, two or all three Saturdays. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.

The fee to participate on one Saturday is $10 for members of The Works and $15 for non-members. The fee to attend all three Saturdays is $25 for members and $40 for non-members.

Participants will employ standard archaeological techniques to explore the remains of a 19th century canal lock under the direction of trained archaeologist, Allison Galbari.

“This will be a great learning experience for anyone who has ever wondered about archaeology or those that have experience to share,” Galbari said.

Galbari is a graduate of Heidelberg College and has extensive archaeological field experience. Attendees are required to wear a hat, clothes that can get dirty, gloves, shoes with closed heels & toes (tennis shoes would be fine) and a water bottle. Participants must be physically able to bend, kneel and walk around on uneven ground. There will be a break for lunch. Each attendee is responsible for providing his or her own lunch and drinks.

The dig will explore the fill dirt between the walls of the canal lock. Likely finds will be small pieces of ceramic plates, broken glass, bits of wood, brick, metal and other items that may have found their way into the canal over the last 175 years.

The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology is a family fun and learning destination located at 55 S. 1st Street in Newark, Ohio. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For more information, call 740-349-9277 or visit the web site at www.attheworks.org.

Rare Guilty Pleas Are Obtained In Southwest Artifacts Sting

The following was passed on to me by a friend who wondered if such things could take place in Ohio. I replied that while Ohio has significant archaeological resources the looting scenario described in the article were on Indian Reservation lands subject to Federal jurisdiction, something Ohio is lacking in almost completely . However that does not mean that there aren't folks in this part of the world that don't participate in collecting at all costs for resale on local antiquities market. In fact, the systematic looting of rock shelters in the southern and southeast portions of Ohio has been an ongoing problem for decades. At the same time there are many open sites in other parts of Ohio that have been dismantled, so to speak, by individuals with little regard to properly recording their sites and dealing with them in a responsible manner. At the same time there are many avocationalists who keep excellent records of their sites and their finds and many times their incidental finds have led to the recognition of significant archaeological sites. However it would seem that their good work is often overshadowed by those who could care little about preserving any part of the past, about the archaeology of the site or whatever information they destroy in the rush to collect the largest, the most rare or most valuable. It seems to be a continuing sign of the times. Bill Pickard

Morning Edition, July 8, 2009 · A two-year federal sting aimed at a black market in ancient Native American artifacts has yielded its first guilty pleas. The plea agreements distinguish this artifacts prosecution from earlier efforts.

"We have grown jaded and cynical about prosecutions over the years because it seemed so few ever stuck," says author David Roberts, who writes about the region's artifacts and ruins in his book In Search of the Old Ones. Roberts calls the two guilty pleas "extremely significant and surprising."

The pleas come from a family long involved in artifacts collecting and targeted for prosecution in the past.

Jeanne Redd, 59, of Blanding, Utah, told a federal judge in Salt Lake City that she's guilty of seven felony counts of theft and trafficking. Redd admitted that she dug up four centuries-old sandals on U.S. Forest Service land and then sold them to an artifacts dealer working undercover with federal agents.

Redd also showed the dealer turquoise and effigy bird pendants, a gourd containing a necklace, a "hafted" axe and a mug that she knew came from federal land or Indian reservations.

Redd's daughter Jerrica, 37, appeared just before her mother to enter her own guilty pleas. She was charged after prosecutors reviewed evidence seized in a raid on June 10. Jerrica Redd admitted digging up a vase, seed jar and "pottery vessel" on the Navajo Reservation.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to seek "the lower end" of prison time for the Redds. Jeanne faces decades behind bars if given the maximum sentences. Jerrica faces up to nine years in prison.

The actual sentences will be determined by a federal judge in September after completion of pre-sentencing reports.

"This is an important milestone in the case," says Carlie Christensen, an assistant U.S. Attorney in Utah. "We hope this will discourage people from going out on those lands and stealing, removing or destroying these really unique and rare artifacts."

Mark Michel of the Archaeological Conservancy is "very pleased" with this early success in the case.

"The quick guilty pleas in less than a month indicate that the government has a very, very strong case against these people and presumably against the other people who have been arrested," Michel adds.

The sting initially snared 24 people. Two have since committed suicide, including prominent Blanding doctor James Redd, who was Jeanne's husband and Jerrica's father.

James and Jeanne Redd were charged in another artifacts case earlier in the decade but James was eventually acquitted and Jeanne pleaded no contest to a reduced charge.

Michel credits the use of the undercover dealer for what appears to be a more successful prosecution now.

He says in the past, investigators "concentrated on trying to catch people in the act of digging which is almost impossible to do in the vast reaches of the West."

San Juan County, Utah, has what are believed to be the country's greatest concentrations of ancient American Indian ruins and artifacts. The county is bigger than Connecticut and includes skyscraping mountains, desert mesas and steep and narrow canyons that are remote, largely unpopulated and difficult to patrol.

"By using an undercover agent, they've been able to penetrate this ring of professional looters," Michel adds.

The plea agreements signed by Jeanne and Jerrica Redd, and search warrant affidavits describing the alleged digging, collecting and trafficking of others, shows that the artifacts trade in the region is not benign. Some locals have described it as a family-friendly subculture passed down from generation to generation for a century.

"This is not some sort of harmless Sunday picnic arrowhead hunting that's going on," writer David Roberts says. "It's a full scale black market business. It's really organized crime. This goes far beyond being a hobby."

The digging the Redds described on Indian land is especially offensive on the Navajo Reservation, where disturbing the graves and artifacts of "the ancient ones" is taboo. "There's outrage there," says Kenneth Maryboy, a Navajo and San Juan County commissioner who considered the Redds good friends.

James Redd was Maryboy's doctor and he attended Redd's funeral.

"To find out that this has been going on for quite some time, that's kind of disturbing," Maryboy says, sounding exasperated by the news. "They are good people. And it's kind of hard to imagine that they would do such things."

Attorney Mark Moffat represents Jeanne and Jerrica Redd and says he, his co-counsel and his clients will not speak to reporters until after sentencing is pronounced in September.

The plea agreements include surrender of all artifacts in the possession of the Redds, including those that might have been legally obtained from private land.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, it took about 20 federal agents and archaeologists, and two moving vans, to pack up and haul away the collection.

Save Ohio History by attending Budget Committee hearings!

The House Finance & Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) has set public hearings on the “impact of potential Senate budget decisions” in Statehouse Room 313 at the following times:

Thursday, July 2 @ 3 pm

Monday, July 6 @ 10 am

Tuesday, July 7 @ 2 pm

We need your voice! Don’t let Ohio History die! Please join us and other history supporters at the Statehouse and let the General Assembly know that HISTORY MATTERS!

You don’t have to speak at the hearings, but we need you to demonstrate your support by filling the hearing room and halls.

The best days to attend are Monday and Tuesday.

If you are able to attend the event please let us know by emailing govrelations@ohiohistory.org. Rep. Sykes’ office will alert OHS when new information is available, or if changes occur to the schedule, etc. We will alert those that plan to attend via email as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact OHS’ government relations office at govrelations@ohiohistory.org.