| Archaeology |
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| Overview |
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The Oregon Department of Transportation has been involved in archaeology research and protection for over 25 years now. Beginning in the early 1970’s, this agency was responding to new federal laws. Over the years, we have developed a program to balance the needs of transportation with protection of significant archaeological resources. Archaeological resources are not readily visible, vary greatly in their nature, content, context, extent, and are non-renewable finite resources, and include both prehistoric and historic resources. Each resource and circumstance must be evaluated individually, and appropriate procedures and steps are developed on a case by case basis.
This program is administered by Carolyn McAleer, ODOT Senior Archaeologist in the Environmental Services Section. While some fieldwork is conducted in house, most is performed through an interagency agreement with the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology. A strong partnership has existed between ODOT and OSMA for over 20 years. Some consultant projects contract with private archaeology firms, however, ODOT has the responsibility of reviewing all scopes of work and final products for sufficiency.
Archaeological sites are not a rare or infrequent occurrence. Over 20,000 sites have been recorded in Oregon to date with less than 5.6% of the state actually surveyed. The ODOT has in the past unintentionally impacted previously unrecorded sites during construction. For this reason emergency procedures are provided in the ODOT Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, 1991 (sec. 00170.50, pg. 65).
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