KUSA – If you’re obsessed with Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park, you’d likely dig this.
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is inviting the public to join professional archeologists as they excavate the Magic Mountain site near the Apex Trailhead in Golden.
“We’re looking for remains that go back to about 1,000 to about 1,500 years ago right now,” Dr. Michele Koons said.
Koons was a kid who loved getting her hands dirty. She grew up to be an adult who makes a living playing in dirt.
“You know it actually ended up working out as a career choice,” she laughed.
Koons is the curator of archeology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and leader of the excavation site at Magic Mountain. Koons said the area had been excavated twice before – once in 1959 and again in the 1990s.
There’s evidence that people were living in the area as far back as 7,000 years ago.
“There’s an idea that people were using this as winter campground because of the location,” Koons said. “We’re between the hogbacks as well as the foothills and it’s a little bit warmer in this region here.”
The museum started excavating the site last year and focused on spots identified in geographical surveys. They discovered an oven which led Koons to believe there might be remnants of a home buried beneath the dirt.
“This year we’re going back and we’re looking to see if we can actually find some more of that house to be able to define it,” Koons said.
This is the second summer the public has been invited to join the dig. There are also tours of the excavation site thanks to a grant from the History Colorado State Historical Society. Kids and adults are welcome to take part in the tour and excavation activities.
“It’s sort of this idea of getting people out here, getting people excited about it, letting them try it and then hoping that they understand a little bit about archeology and can go on to protect sites in the future,” Koons said.
This summer, Koons said they’ve discovered about a half-dozen arrowheads. Every day, participants find what Koons described as “flakes.”
“They’re flakes of stone that come off when people were making stone tools,” she explained.
The daily tours and excavation activities run every half hour between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The first round of tours wraps up Wednesday, but a second round will be offered July 5-13. The tours are free but available first come first served to those who schedule online.
