Impacts to Archaeological Deposits by Heavy Equipment and Protective Site Hardening Techniques

Summary

This is an abstract from the "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A National Perspective on CRM, Research, and Consultation" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Heavy equipment, whether from construction, agriculture, or other varied situations, can significantly and negatively affect surface and subsurface archaeological deposits, be it from direct or indirect contact with machinery. In-situ protective "site hardening" techniques have potential to mitigate some of these impacts, if designed appropriately in response to expected types of heavy equipment, and in context with site environmental properties. This paper and presentation will draw from various studies, conducted from experimental work performed by the author as well as examples found in literature, to provide parameters on potential damage from such site impacts. Site environmental parameters will be presented as modifying factors, and various types of equipment will be covered. This paper and presentation will also provide information and insight into in-situ protective "site hardening" strategies that take advantage of the existing environmental properties of each site to preserve and protect from damage in a variety of situations. A range of both bioengineering and land engineering techniques will be covered. Applications relative to heavy equipment impact scenarios will be discussed to provide assessments for potential success of site protection efforts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A National Perspective on CRM, Research, and Consultation   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26079