March 24, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR CHANDRA INGLIS IN WV

Sorry for the delay in an answer, I was out in the field and not
able to check my email. I'm not sure I understand the question correctly
but I'll do my best. If your talking about discovering something new like
an artifact that has never been identified before, well that happens all the
time, and is just pretty much luck of the draw depending on the site you
have. If your talking about finding a historical site, usually those are
found because of the development of a road or housing development, or
Wal-Mart or something, and the law requires a background search to be done
as part of the cultural resource clearance. Sometimes that is what will
clue you in to the possibility of a site. Other times your initially search
doesn't really turn anything up. But then you actually go out there and
test, find something, and then dig a little deeper into historical records
to figure out what it is you have.