Archeologist, Mission Patch Up Differences

The breakdown in communication that led to an archeologist’s walking off an excavation site behind the historic San Buenaventura Mission last week has been resolved, the church pastor announced Friday. The stalled archeological work will resume Monday, Msgr. Patrick O’Brien said. “We are happy with the resolution and the job goes on,” O’Brien said.

He refused to elaborate on the details of the resolution, saying it was “nobody’s business.” The mission is preparing to expand the aging Holy Cross School. The school will sit atop the foundation of a portion of the ancient mission that once housed shops and living quarters.

For the past two months, a team of nine archeologists has been digging behind the mission, saving artifacts and documenting what they find in preparation for the school construction to begin.

An archeologist and a Native American monitor are both required on the site by law. But Gary E. Stickel, the director of the dig, shut down the excavation site behind the mission last Wednesday, saying that O’Brien was pushing his team of archeologists to work so quickly they could not maintain their professional standards.

Stickel confirmed he will be back on site Monday.