When developer Brooks Pace saw the site of an ancient Puebloan pit house in the midst of a future housing development, he decided to donate the site to the Archaeological Conservancy rather than see it destroyed.
Greg Woodall is a consulting archaeologist who helped in the research of the house. He said that Pace’s choice to preserve the site is distinctive in his particular field.
“The more he thought about it, the more he just didn’t want to see that site built upon," Woodall said. "Usually when archaeologists deal with a site, then the bulldozers come in and it’s just gone.”
Pace will be buying the land from the state, then donating the pit site to the conservancy. The area will be set up for visitors to learn more about its ancient inhabitants.
“With digital technology, we can in essence have a virtual house in digital format and also protect it in the ground," Woodall said. "The idea is to preserve it for all future generations to enjoy and that location itself will basically be a little neighborhood park sort of thing.”
Chaz Evans, southwest region field representative with the conservancy, said the 2,000-year-old house is important for the area.
“The Dammeron Valley site is really unique in its own way," Evans said. "It represents a unique sort of site structure in that they decided to dig into the ground rather than build up, so it’s really important that way.”
The pit will be backfilled to protect and preserve it for possible excavations in the future.