HOUSING RUINS

Archaeology Buffs May Dig a New Development in Utah

By Headwaters News, 2-27-07

Golf developments are nothing new. Neither are slope-side condos or homes with private fishing access. But homes with their own archaeological site? That’s a new one.

Utah developer Milo McCowan thinks it’s going to work, though, and he’s already in the throes of building a housing development with between 700 and 800 units on 270 acres west of Kanab Creek, and with a 20-acre dig site. The site includes 14 Anasazi ruins that span the culture’s residence over almost 1,200 years, ending about 800 years ago.

His plan, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, is to connect the archaeological sites with amateur diggers and university researchers, and to keep the 20 acres as a long-term study site in a park-like setting for residents.

McCowan is under no obligation to preserve the ruins, which include ancient dwellings that extend down 15 feet, and he has received praise and even offers to help from the Division of State History.

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