Photo By Cynthia McIntyre | The remnants of a Salinan village that’s somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 years old...... read more read more
There are many archaeological sites scattered throughout the 165,000 acres of Fort Hunter Liggett training lands, and the installation works hard to keep them from being destroyed while opening lands for live fire and maneuvers. In one of FHL's training areas, a one-acre remnant of an ancient Salinan village was just not in a good spot for heavy equipment. So they buried it.
Capping, as it’s called, actually preserves sites from effects of weather and accidental damage. The process used to cap this area will also allow Strykers and other large vehicles to rumble over it. Plus, should archaeologists want to excavate it in the future, it should remain relatively intact.
Lisa Cipolla, cultural resources manager, said the Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) crew at the Directorate of Training, Plans, Mobilization and Security developed the plans, which other installations are also interested in copying.
“It’s opening up more land for training in a key area, while protecting the resource,” she said.
A geotextile fabric often used for roads was laid down first, and a honeycomb plastic called geoweb was set on top. “That geowebbing keeps soil from moving outward and downward,” said Blake McSorley, Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance coordinator. “We’ll be able to withstand heavy loads of Strykers, which are around 20 tons, and even Bradley tanks.”
Art Hazebrook, ITAM program manager, said they had to bring in different soil to fill in the geoweb so future archaeologists can distinguish the site from the surrounding land. Four tons of straw will lay on top of the soil and the area hydroseeded. “It should be usable at the end of next year,” he said. “The Army is a good steward and pays attention to regulations. It’s part of our heritage and history.”
Federal regulations mandate historic preservation as well as environmental stewardship, even on military installations.
“Archaeological sites are nonrenewable resources,” said Cipolla. “Once you bulldoze them the data is gone forever. If we can preserve it in place and still drive Strykers over it that’s just amazing. It’s a win-win.”
| Date Taken: | 10.30.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2018 12:45 |
| Story ID: | 298233 |
| Location: | CA, US |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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