The Connecticut State Preservation Office and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) are working together to clean up the state’s archaeological preserves after last month’s big storm.
“The flooding honestly was more devastating, I think, than anyone could have anticipated,” Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Catherine Labadia said.
Connecticut is home to 39 archaeological sites and collection or taking items away from them is illegal.
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“I don’t think people really understand the rich archaeological heritage that Connecticut has to offer,” Labadia said.
Officials say when surveying the damage at Southford Falls State Park in Southbury, they saw several people taking artifacts. The artifacts were revealed after the flood water removed the topsoil on the remains of an old factory that burned down in 1923.
“The artifacts that were coming out of the ground were ones that were related to the factory,” Labadia said. “So, it was a lot of architectural debris, window glass, nails, but also items that were related to the factory and manufacturing debris.”
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She urges anyone who took an artifact to reach out to the Office of State Archaeology (OSA) which is located in Storrs at the University of Connecticut where they can collect data and take pictures of the artifacts.
“Nobody will be getting in trouble if they did take anything,” Labadia said.
