The Archaeological Conservancy

09/03/2026

HAWAII, GUAM, AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS—The U.S. Navy has awarded five firms contracts worth up to a combined $70 million for archaeological monitoring and data recovery across the Pacific. Most of the work is expected to take place in Hawaii, with additional projects in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The contracts extend through August 2033, although no individual task orders have yet been issued.

Read more: https://www.war.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4578834/contracts-for-aug-20-2026/

09/02/2026

LITTLETON, COLORADO—Colorado State Archaeologist Holly Norton and her team are investigating a hilltop site at Jackass Hill Park after local residents reported archaeological material there. The work comes before planned park improvements and will help determine whether the site is historically significant. South Suburban Parks and Recreation says it will consider adjusting its plans after receiving the state’s findings and recommendations.

Read more: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/in-your-community/south-metro/archaeological-dig-looks-for-artifacts-on-site-of-jackass-hill-park-that-could-undergo-changes

Denver7's South Metro Reporter Danielle Kreutter takes an exclusive look at an archeological dig happening at Jackass Hill Park.

09/02/2026

LAKE ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA—Archaeologists are using sonar, sediment cores, and underwater excavation to search for ancient Indigenous landscapes beneath Lake Erie. The team is investigating a submerged ridge that would have been dry land near rivers and smaller lakes at the end of the Ice Age. A conifer twig recovered from lake-bottom sediment last year was radiocarbon dated to approximately 12,300 years ago, confirming that deposits from the period remain preserved.

Read more: https://www.alleghenyfront.org/archaeologists-lake-erie-relics-ice-age/

A team of archaeologists is looking for evidence of the First Americans in an unlikely place — at the bottom of Lake Erie.

09/01/2026

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE—The Tennessee Division of Archaeology will hold its free annual Current Research in Tennessee Archaeology conference from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Presentations will cover underwater archaeology, remote sensing, drone surveys, an abandoned Memphis cemetery with more than 80 probable graves, and recent investigations at ancient and historic sites. Registration is not required.

Read more: https://www.tn.gov/environment/news/2026/8/25/tn-archaeological-heritage.html

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Archaeology will host its annual conference on research in Tennessee archaeology on Saturday September 12, at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

08/31/2026

JOIN TAC FOR A TOUR: Adventure, archaeology, and meaningful places await in 2027 with the release of The Archaeological Conservancy’s spring tours.

Our new Hopi Cultural Experience tour sold out during early member access this weekend, but there is still room to join us for Belize & Tikal or our spectacular Yampa River tour. Each Conservancy tour offers travelers the chance to explore remarkable cultural landscapes with expert guidance while supporting our mission to preserve archaeological sites across the country.

Learn more: https://www.thearchcons.org/archaeology-tours



Photo credit: TAC Staff

08/31/2026

TOHONO O’ODHAM NATION, ARIZONA—Federal contractors have begun work on a border-barrier project adjoining the Tohono O’odham Nation despite the Nation’s objections. The Nation says vehicles and drilling equipment have crossed its land without authorization to reach the construction corridor and that the project threatens sacred places, cultural resources, water, wildlife, and tribal sovereignty.

The Nation has sued the Department of Homeland Security over plans to acquire reservation land and groundwater for border construction. Federal officials maintain that the current work is taking place within the federally controlled Roosevelt Reservation along the international boundary.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/c745efc4b66947fba995c5b56875da10

The Tohono O’odham Nation says armed federal agents accompanied contractors who trespassed on tribal land this week as they began construction of an Arizona section of a border wall.

08/31/2026

TAMPA, FLORIDA—Federal investigators have seized more than 22,000 ancient artifacts in Florida as part of an ongoing investigation into global antiquities smuggling. Homeland Security Investigations said the seizure is among the largest in the agency’s history and that preliminary reviews indicate some objects may be between 1,000 and 5,000 years old, with possible origins across Europe, Africa, the Levant, and the eastern Mediterranean.

The collection reportedly includes coins, pottery, glass, jewelry, statues, weapons, and other objects. Identification and authentication are expected to take time.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/us/ancient-artifacts-seized-florida.html
Official HSI release: https://www.dhs.gov/hsi/newsroom

08/29/2026

LOWER PECOS CANYONLANDS, TEXAS—A new report from The Guardian details concerns that proposed border-wall and vehicle-barrier construction in West Texas could damage or destroy ancient Indigenous rock art in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands.

The proposed construction corridor includes barriers, roads, and related infrastructure between the Big Bend area and Lake Amistad, a region known for extraordinary rock imagery, cultural landscapes, and places of continuing importance to Indigenous communities.

The story also highlights the Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center’s decades of work documenting more than 250 rock imagery sites in the region and the urgent need for careful survey, consultation, and stewardship before construction proceeds.

Read more: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/24/indigenous-rock-art-border-wall

The president’s border wall plan could damage or destroy ‘the oldest-known books in North America’

08/29/2026

Join a talk with the Conservancy’s own Southeast Regional Director Jessica Fleming Crawford!

Join us September 12th at 1:00 in Port Gibson at The Collina House!

08/29/2026

Crews work to address erosion at Cavanaugh Mound in Fort Smith, Arkansas, during 2017 rehabilitation efforts. The Archaeological Conservancy acquired the mound in 2005 and has worked to preserve and stabilize it. Cavanaugh Mound, not far from the Spiro site, has been known by other names, including Jones Mound, Etter's Mound, and Site Zeta. Although archaeologists can't precisely date the mound, research indicates that it was constructed and used as a platform mound through multiple stages.