I think this is great!  I don't think the attachment came through though....

Cheers, Ree
Archaeologist
WAPA, Rocky Mountain Region
970-461-7214


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carl Drexler
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 2:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: UXO Forum at SHA 2016

Colleagues,

A few weeks ago, a very nice James Type I artillery shell was found near Prairie Grove, Arkansas. When a city employee posted a photo of it to Facebook, the local bomb squad hastily commandeered and destroyed the round, before consulting with archaeologists, historians, or staff from the nearby battlefield park. Part of the justification behind this hasty action was that those who expressed a preservation-minded approach to dealing with the artifact could not offer a plan to effectively handle, render inert, and curate such a find. This is not an isolated incident, and it is time, I feel, to come together and better-define our response to this kind of situation.

I am proposing a forum at the upcoming SHA conference (Washington, January 6 -9, 2016) that will bring together archaeologists, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists from the U.S. military, lawyers specializing in explosives-related issues, and bomb squad personnel. In addition to defining each groups' interests and motivations when historic (pre-WWI) unexploded ordnance (UXO) is recovered, I want to use this forum to develop a draft protocol for safe handling, preservation, and curation of these finds, which otherwise end up destroyed and lost to us. The title and abstract are attached.

This forum will be of interest to more than just those who specialize in battlefield research. Any who work in areas where historic conflicts have occurred, and who might deal with UXO during research or when contacted by an interested member of the public would also derive benefit.

Please send me any thoughts or comments at the below contact information.
If you have stories about the handling of such finds (good or bad), please feel free to share them with me in advance of the conference.

Thanks,
Carl

----
Dr. Carl G. Drexler
Arkansas Archeological Survey
SAU Research Station
[log in to unmask]
(870) 235-4230