LITTLETON, Colo. — Over the last few days, the Colorado State Archaeologist has been at the top of Jackass Hill Park digging for artifacts.
The dig was prompted by a neighbor.
"I'm a geologist, and I spend my life looking at the ground," said Ned Sterne.
Sterne said he and a friend, archaeologist Craig Banister, found several artifacts at the park themselves and reported it to the state.
"It was compelling enough that we talked to South Suburban, and South Suburban was super receptive to us investigating," said Dr. Holly Norton, Colorado State Archaeologist and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer.
She said it's clear the viewpoint at the park has been a special place for a very long time, the question now is: Is it historically significant?
"We're not really looking to like count arrowheads or flakes or you know pieces of glass. What we're doing is looking for material culture from the past that tells us about our ancestors who lived there and the things that they did. We help communities identify whether their archeological sites can tell a good story," said Norton.
Back in July, Denver7 reported changes were planned by South Suburban Parks and Recreation for that specific viewpoint.
South Metro
Redevelopment of Jackass Hill Park to begin next month in Littleton
"We're moving this point that you stand, back a minimum of 30 feet to get it further away from homes," said Melissa Reese- Thacker, Director of Planning, at the time.
Several neighbors are hopeful the findings by the state are significant.
"I would like them to go back to their design for this part of the park, and revise it to really protect the remainder of this archaeological site," said Sterne.
Ultimately, the State Archeologist will decide just how historically significant the area is and give recommendations to South Suburban.
South Suburban told Denver7 when it comes to the planned changes for the viewpoint, that once the findings and recommendations are released, they will discuss if there needs to be adjustments to the plans and construction.
Construction for other redevelopment of the park will begin in September on the Northeast corner of the park.
