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Historic Properties Treatment Plan, Collom Mine, Colorado 13 <br />been found eroding out of the bank in an attempt to discover a bone bed. The mechanical auger <br />tests proved negative. Another vertebra was found in the western cutbank at the site, but it is <br />inconclusive whether the bone is from a bison or a cow. <br />In August of 1995, the Somemore Site was revisited for a Class III inventory project completed <br />by Metcalf Archaeological Consultants and the BLM for a coal mining lease project for the <br />Colowyo Mine. During the revisit, a small light gray quartzite interior waste flake was found <br />along the east bank of the arroyo, but no other additional cultural material was discovered and <br />no additional work was completed at the site. <br />The most recent visit to the Somemore Site occurred on August 24, 2005, and was conducted <br />by TRC Mariah for the current Collom Mine Expansion Class III inventory. During the revisit, <br />the original 1983 TRC Mariah site datum was relocated, and the banks of the arroyo were <br />examined for possible evidence of eroding cultural material. A facing of a small portion of the <br />western bank yielded two pieces of groundstone in deposits that appeared to be largely intact <br />with some colluvial slump on top. The artifacts were found at a depth of approximately 1.8 m <br />below surface. Both artifacts are metate fragments exhibiting grinding and pecking on one side. <br />NRHP Eligibility Recommendation: The Somemore Site was recommended as potentially <br />eligible as early as 1980, and the Colorado OAHP concurred that the site was officially eligible <br />for the NRHP in 1981. The site remained eligible over the years, but it was recommended for <br />further testing during the current project to determine the extent of possible buried cultural <br />material. During the 2005 inventory evaluation, brief investigations revealed groundstone where <br />no artifacts or bone had been found before, and the current assessment is that the site is eligible <br />for the NRHP. Subsurface testing and data recovery excavations are required to determine the <br />origin and nature of all previously documented eroded bone and newly discovered groundstone. <br />The site occurs within the mine permit boundary and will likely be impacted by the proposed <br />undertaking causing an adverse effect. The site is eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D and <br />47599 TRC Mariah Associates Inc. <br />