LAKEPORT, Calif. – Thanks to a grant, the Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport is hosting special events this week in honor of October being California Archaeology Month.

Tony Pierucci, curator of the county's museums, said the Historic Courthouse Museum received the grant from the Society for California Archaeology to help support the museum’s archaeology outreach programs this month.

“We were really happy to get it,” Pierucci said of the grant.

Pierucci said California Archaeology Month is dedicated to the preservation of California’s cultural heritage.

Archaeology is of special importance to Pierucci; he has master's degrees in both archaeology and art history, and has worked on digs at Roman ruins in Jordan and Turkey.

Across the state, different museums, historical societies and libraries are putting on programs for the public to raise awareness of the value of archaeology, he said.

“Only a select number of these programs were awarded grants, and the Historic Courthouse Museum was lucky to be one of them,” Pierucci added.

During the summer, the Society for California Archaeology contacted Pierucci to see if he was interested in having the museum become a local point of contact for events. “We agreed to be one,” he said, adding they have yet to get an assignment, such as speaking to groups.

The society sponsors California Archaeology Month, and gives out between $5,000 and $10,000 in grants in each, Pierucci said.

“Since I started as curator in June I knew I wanted to do something in celebration of California Archaeology Month,” said Pierucci, who pursued – and received – a grant of a few hundred dollars.

While this first grant isn't a lot of money, Pierucci said it was enough to support the museum putting on a few free upcoming events.

The first of the events, a workshop for students, will take place on Thursday and Friday, and is not open to the general public, he said.

Working with sixth grade teachers from Terrace Middle School, Pierucci said the museum will host a mock archaeological excavation in the museum itself.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, 117 students in four sixth grade classes will learn the basics of archaeological excavation, recording and analysis, he said.

He said students will learn about the importance of archaeological context and what it takes to recreate past events.

Pierucci said such a program has never been offered at the museum before.

Archaeology in Lake County recently became a news story due to arrests of individuals who were discovered with looted artifacts.

While Pierucci said the close timing of the museum activities and the looting arrests is a coincidence, he thinks it's an opportunity to approach the topic of archaeology with children, adding that indifference is just as bad as actually going out and looting sites.

Students also will be taught about the importance of leaving artifacts in their context and not picking them up, Pierucci said.

“An arrowhead to us might not be a big deal, but to the living culture of the Pomo here, it's a big deal,” he explained.

The second event, which the community is invited to attend, is the free “Day of Archaeology,” which will include an afternoon of presentations by local archaeologists, Pierucci said.

It will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the courtroom upstairs at the Historic Courthouse Museum, on Main Street in downtown Lakeport. Refreshments will be served.

Pierucci said the featured speakers will be Dr. John Parker, who will discuss Lake County's archaeology; Professor Douglas Prather of Mendocino College, who will speak about his recent excavations at a medieval castle in Ireland; and museum Assistant Curator Whitney Petrey will give a presentation on underwater archaeology.

Petrey started her job with the county in August, said Pierucci. She has extensive experience with underwater archaeology. Her professional work includes studying riparian areas in North Carolina and finding World War II plane wrecks in Hawaii.

“We're really excited,” Pierucci said of Saturday event, which he anticipates will be well attended.

“Archaeology in Lake County is really fascinating,” Pierucci said.

He said those who attend will leave with a better understanding of what archaeology is and how it's exercised across different disciplines.

“We're definitely planning on doing something like this annually,” Pierucci said.

He plans to seek a larger grant next year if these new programs are well received, and may also add events at another point in the year as well.

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