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Ashland dig tampered with Archaeological site has yielded bottles, tools, other artifacts By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � An archeological site near Calle Guanajuato that may contain thousands of old bottles was disturbed over the weekend, according to city officials. Brandon Goldman, assistant city planner, said it appears someone used a tool to dig a 20-foot swath along the surface of the site behind the Ashland Plaza where crews last week discovered old bottles at an apparent turn-of-the-century dump site. The incident was reported Monday to the Ashland Police Department as a theft. However, Goldman said it may be impossible to know whether the vandals were also thieves because there�s no inventory of the site. "It�s hard to determine what they took," he said. "All we know is what they left." Regardless, Goldman said trespassing in the area, which has been declared an archaeological site in addition to being a construction zone, is also illegal. Removing archeological objects from such a site is a Class C felony, Goldman said. Southern Oregon University anthropologists are working with the city to study the site, Goldman said. Its value to the community could be more significant than money. "It�s their historic value that�s of real significance," he said. Goldman has asked police to increase patrols in the area. Business owners and residents are asked to call the police department if they see any suspicious activity in the area, he said. The street and adjacent creek area behind the plaza are closed to the public while crews work to repair damage from the 1997 New Year�s Day Flood. Meza Construction crews discovered the bottles last week while excavating a hillside across the creek . Many of the bottles, which date between the 1890s and the 1940s, were probably refuse from a turn-of-the-century boarding house, Goldman said. The find includes bottles used for medicine, liquor and ketchup. "It was typical at that time for people to basically use the slopes adjacent to creeks as private dumping areas," Goldman said. "It�s certainly not something that would be approved of today." Anthropologists studying the site have retrieved a sample of about 200 intact bottles, he said. Pieces of metal, shards of pottery, a wrench and a hand-blown light bulb with intact filament also were found in the dirt. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.