NORTHAMPTON — An archaeological dig last summer that discovered remains of an 8,000- to 10,000-year-old settlement only scratched the surface of what is likely an artifact-rich site off Routes 5 and 10.
That’s according to Richard M. Gramly, an archaeologist hired by property owner John F. Skibiski Jr.
Work had been set to begin July 1 on a $3.4 million roundabout near the dig site, at what is now the sharply angled intersection of King and Hatfield streets. Work has been delayed by a lawsuit Skibiski filed in an effort to get more time for a larger excavation.
“I can say this, if you don’t look for these remains you won’t find them,” Gramly said in a phone interview Friday. “If you don’t find them, the bulldozer sure will.”
Skibiski’s attorney, John P. Connor of the firm Stobierski and Connor in Greenfield, said Friday the state has agreed to hold off on the roundabout project at least until after a court hearing July 13.
More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the archaeological site to be preserved.
- 6/26/2020 - aerial view, facing north, of the intersection of Hatfield Street and Route 10 in Northampton. The city plans to install a rotary at the intersection. Hatfield Street is on the left. On the far right is Interstate-91. An archaeological dig in the wooded area to the left of Hatfield Street found artifacts dating back 8,000 years. Patrick JohnsonPatrick Johnson
Gramly said experience digging at similar sites tells him there are likely the remains of gravesites nearby. All human remains are likely long disappeared, but he would expect to find ritual objects.
Already, he said, the sharpened crescent-shaped stones mark the site as unique. They were found and removed by Archaeological and Historical Services Inc. of Storrs, Connecticut, a company hired by the state of Massachusetts to investigate the site prior to construction.
Much more common are the projectile points that date the site, Gramly said.
“It’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” he said. “You could grow old looking for another one.”
And he said that while professionally done, the state’s dig was too limited in scope.
"The risk of getting back in the site of course is that they might make more discoveries," Gramly said.
The issue goes beyond the future of the roundabout project, said Wayne Feiden, director of planning and sustainability for the city of Northampton. He disagrees with Skibiski’s efforts to claim the more than 200 artifacts removed by Archaeological and Historical Services.
"To me that violates a core principle," Feiden said. "They should not be privately held."
Feiden said the accepted course of action is to remove and catalog what will be disturbed by construction and leave the rest in place for future generations.
According to Feiden, Skibiski is a longtime foe of the project, objecting to the loss of property through eminent domain and the construction of sidewalks that he would have to maintain.
According to the state Department of Transportation website, the project is meant to improve traffic safety at the intersection. Poor geometry and excessive delays for side-street traffic will be eliminated by construction of a modern roundabout at this northern gateway to the Northampton, the website said.
The roundabout is also important because it will provide pedestrian access to the River Valley Co-op supermarket on North King Street, Feiden said.
Connor said Skibiski lost possession the artifacts before the state completed purchase of the property through eminent domain and that the artifacts do have monetary value.
He also said Skibiski had difficulty learning the details of what was found on the property. While there was some public discussion of the findings, Connor said Skibiski only got written reports from Archaeological and Historical Services after the lawsuit was filed. They came from the state attorney general’s office, not the state archaeologist, Brona Simon, who works under Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin.
Connor has since shard the document publicly. It details the discovery of the crescent-shaped blades, saying they were used on spears or darts to increase damage while hunting animals or fish.
This image, taken from a report by a state-hired archaelogist, shows crescent-shaped stone blade recovered from the site off King Street in Northampton. The objects are thought to be 8,000 to 10,000 years old. (Photo provided)
Also found at the site were the remains of hearths or fireplaces, evidence that fire was used to make stone tools and hammerstones from the quartzite rock found at the site.
The report says site is rare and to date the only one of its exact type found.
“The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has requested additional investigation and mitigation of impacts to the site,” the report said.
Galvin spokeswoman Debra O’Malley provided to reporters this week a copy of the agreement between the archaeologists, the tribes and MassDOT.
O’Malley said the state does not typically make archaeological reports readily available for fear unscrupulous collectors will use them to find and loot sites before professionals can get to them.