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LiveCam at
Zion National Park . Utah
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Towers of the Virgin
About This Camera
LiveCam at
Zion National Park . Utah
Jun
14
Bandon, Oregon plans to bury all of its utilities, including the power lines, underneath a sidewalk which runs over the remains of an ancient Coquille Tribal midden. A midden is a refuse bump. So far, the midden remains have revealed many artifacts including a harpoon tip, an elk antler and a digging tool made of the same and several posts holes which may be the corners of an ancient dwelling. The study is still in progress. Since the town is proactive, it invited, in fact, hired the the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology to do advance archeological testing in the area, to help the utility work run more smoothly. Here is a picture of the neighborhood which lies atop the midden site and here is an aerial view. There’s no telling where the associated, ancient native village is located, perhaps it’s under water, but there is no doubt people inhabited this area for centuries beyond the age of this one midden.
Some of the found objects date back to 1500 years or older. Only carbon testing will tell and will be part of the final report.
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A crew from the Southern Oregon University Laboratory worked collecting materials that will be studied further. Over the next year the city will have a report of the findings. The Coquille Indian Tribe’s cultural resources director, Don Ivy, and archeologist, Nicole Norris, were monitoring the SOU crew’s work. The site not only contains prehistoric materials, but also has archeological samples from Bandon’s early days in the late 1800s. The new sidewalk construction has begun again today and will continue to be monitored. It’s great when a city recognizes it’s past is as important as it’s future.
Blue in his usual “in charge” pose, high above Elephant Rock. Can you see why they call it Elephant Rock?
See the trunk and ears in the middle of the two ends of the island? Look over the top of Blue’s back.