While I appreciate enthusiasm for history and public interest in archaeology, I am concerned about an ongoing excavation in Algiers Point that, based on the NOLA.com article, does not seem to comply with professional standards and codes of ethics in contemporary archaeology. Excavation is an important activity, and we can learn a great deal about the past through digging sites and analyzing archaeological finds, but excavation effectively dismantles archaeological sites.

For archaeologists, then, the most important aspects of excavation are, first, attempting to understand the deposits that are present at sites and documenting the contexts where artifacts are found. Without that information, vital clues about the significance of artifacts are lost. As exciting as it is to find artifacts while digging in the ground and sifting the dirt, documenting excavations is essential, so that the results of archaeological investigations can be made available to professionals and the public alike. It is generally the case that it takes longer to figure out what we have found than it does to dig it up from the ground, but archaeological sites and artifacts deserve that kind of focused and thorough investigation, and archaeological finds deserve careful curation.

It does seem that the site has potential to shed important light on Civil War history in New Orleans, and it probably deserves formal archaeological investigation and protection. There is a community of professional archaeologists in Louisiana that could potentially contribute to the study of sites like this one and many others -- including archaeologists affiliated with government agencies, universities and museums, and cultural resource management firms. As a community, we should support study and stewardship of historic and archaeological sites as well as programs in archaeology and historic preservation. It is important to discover what we can about the past, while also preserving it for the future, and making it accessible to everybody. Archaeological sites are nonrenewable cultural resources, and they are part of our shared heritage.

Chris Rodning

New Orleans