Airport Site Could Be Native American Village United States

Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 20 February 2007 Page Views: 1230

Country: United States A site where early inhabitants of the Connecticut shore hunted, fished, grew corn and buried their dead thousands of years ago may lie beneath the former Griswold Airport and could pose a new roadblock for the Madison Landing housing project.

State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni has written to the developers and state and local officials urging that the state be allowed to survey the site to identify and preserve whatever might be found there.
Bellantoni said this week. "I'd certainly like to get a handle on that before the bulldozers start flying."

The developer will cooperate with the state, Howard Kaufman, executive vice president and general counsel for LeylandAlliance of Tuxedo, N.Y., said Thursday. "If we are asked to do some type of study, we'll do that," Kaufman said. "Typically a study is done, something is learned from it, it's all recorded, and then the project simply proceeds. It shouldn't delay everything."

If there is evidence of a burial site or human remains, any ongoing work would have to be halted... according to state law. Whatever is found, the state would have to negotiate with the landowner as to whether the site can be preserved, or if the artifacts and human remains will be removed.

Bellantoni would not reveal the exact location of the Native American site for fear of looting. He said it had been reported to the state at least by the 1960s. The adjacent Hammonasset Beach State Park contains several Native American archeological sites, which makes the presence of a site on the Griswold property all the more likely, he said.

More more see the Hartford Courant article.

Contributor Bio for coldrum: Based in Milkyway, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Avebury.

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