Hiking in
The dig site is about 1/4 mile from the road.
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Found bones
Before they even got to the site, one of the kids found a bison bone laying on the ground. BLM Archaeologist Sam Drucker explains the importance of not picking up artifacts and being careful where you walk on an archaeological site.
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Walking in
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Explaining the setting
Dave Vlcek and Sam Drucker explain the layout of the Wardell kill and processing site.
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Uncovering the dig
Sam and Dave remove the tarp that covers the dig site.
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Dig site
Sam had the help of about 60 volunteers who excavated the dig site in the summer of 2005, recovering about a ton of bones.
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Vandal damage
Vandals have done considerable damage to the site, including digging artifacts and shooting shotguns destroying the signs on the premises (note damaged sign on fence behind BLM archaeologist Dave Vlcek).
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Asking questions
Students had plenty of questions about the site.
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Erosion damage
Erosion has caused deep gullys through part of the kill area, exposing bones. This area was the focus of an emergency dig in 2005 and is being restabilized to protect the area from further damage.
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