Dear Histarchers,

I am currently investigating reports of a Civil War era Union cemetery in
the town of Morganza, Louisiana.  Local informants report finding a grave
with what appeared to be Civil War era artifacts (e.g., buttons, a spur,
and a bullet) while digging a cesspit for a ca. 1947-1990 cafe (the
Melancon cafe, which was featured in the movie Easy Rider).  To date, we
have shovel tested the area to identify deposits relating to the Civil War
era and to determine the extent of disturbance from the construction, use,
and razing of the cafe.    We have recovered a number of artifacts related
to the cafe, including many fragments of asbestos floor tile.  Since the
cafe qualifies as an archaeological site under NRHP guidelines, my question
is what to do with the asbestos tiles.  I understand that in their current
state they are stable and pose no immediate hazard, but my concern is the
long-term curation of this material.  Our collection manager has suggested
counting, weighting and discarding them (the University has procedures for
disposing of hazardous waste, so we can do it properly) but I wanted to see
what other have done in similar circumstances.  This is not a Section 106
project and there is no other Federal or State involvement in the project.

Best,
Rob Mann

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Rob Mann, Ph.D.
Southeast Regional Archaeologist
Museum of Natural Science
119 Foster Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
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225.578.6739