They were building a bridge when they happened to dig up history.

Connecticut Department of Transportation crews were excavating the site of a new bridge in January 2019 when they came upon evidence of southern New Englands oldest humans, dating back 12,500 years, the Hartford Courant reports.

Archaeologists had long suspected there may be ancient remnants beneath the soil by Avons Old Farms Road, but didnt have the money to excavate it themselves. In the process of building a bridge over the areas Farmington River, state workers found them.

This is the once-in-lifetime opportunity to look [at a site of this age] in Connecticut, State Historic Preservation Office staff archaeologist Catherine Labadia tells the Courant of the site, which is estimated to be more than 12,000 years old and date back to the Paleoindian Period. This site has the potential to make us understand the first peopling of Connecticut in a way we havent been able to.

The $14.7 million project unearthed prized evidence of human activity roughly six feet beneath the surface, showing traces of evidence regarding human behavior, archaeologist David Leslie says, including holes, walls, a hearth and house posts from temporary dwellings.

And in addition to being ancient, the relics found are also vast. Leslie, who led the dig, says roughly 15,000 artifacts and 27 features which are more highly valued turned up at the site.

And people have been looking for Paleoindian sites for quite some time, says Leslie, adding that evidence from the Paleoindian era is rare in New England and right now, this is the oldest.

While the bridge-building project wasnt intended to uncover history, its quite common that construction reveals museum-worthy finds, experts say.

Far and away most of the archaeological resources that get investigated happened through ... agencies doing their work, going about their business and spending money, says DOT staff archaeologist Scott Speal. While the construction crew didnt intend on finding the artifacts, the National Historic Preservation Act required the DOT to search for them before building.

They afforded us time and money to excavate the entire site, says Leslie.

The discovered artifacts and historic landmark have been named the Dr. Brian D. Jones Paleoindian Site, in honor of a late archaeologist who worked on the site and lost his battle with cancer in July 2019.

Brian had a feeling that there could be the potential for archaeology here, says Leslie.

It was almost like a gift that was given to him, says Labadia.

Read more from the original source:
Construction workers accidentally uncover ancient site in Connecticut - New York Post