The Superior National Forest invites members of the public to view the Big Rice Lake Excavation, located about 15 miles from Tower. The excavation is being conducted July 1 through July 17, including weekends. Archaeologists and volunteers will be involved in both the mapping of historic features and excavation of prehistoric artifacts. They will also collect plant, animal and carbon samples that will promote understanding of the environmental conditions during the site's early use, the season of use and the type of plants and animals that were available. During surface inventories and test excavations at the Big Rice Lake Excavation, Forest Service archaeologists have recovered artifacts dating from the Woodland and Fur Trade eras (approximately 500 BC to 1850 AD) along with evidence of historic maple sugar collecting and processing.
The Big Rice Lake Excavation site can be reached by heading north from Virginia for 10 miles on Highway 169 toward Ely. Take Highway 1 at Pelya toward the Pfeiffer Lake Campground. Take a left on Forest Road 256 for about 5 miles, then take a left on Forest Road 247 toward the Big Rice Lake boat landing. There will be a tent in the parking lot at the boat landing, but the excavation site is reached by a 10-minute hike on a rugged trail.
Individuals interested in learning more about the excavation may contact David Woodward at 626-4320 or dwoodward@fs.fed.us .
