LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Archaeologists will survey portions of the Bethel Manor family housing area here Sept. 18-19 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The survey, in the 1800 and1900 areas of the housing complex, is part of the base's ongoing housing privatization effort.
Archaeologists will dig trenches up to 8 feet deep and, though the trenches will be filled in at night and the area marked with tape, residents should avoid the construction area. Some digging equipment will remain on sight overnight.
While archaeological surveys completed in this area of base in the 1990s did not identify any archaeological sites, one report did recommend further surveying the southernmost area between Sherman and Wythe Courts. The report cited that this area held high archaeological potential for deeply buried pre-historic materials.
A major redevelopment is planned to create a new urbanism neighborhood at the Bethel Manor housing area that's similar to the residential areas in Newport News' Port Warwick. This, among other things, will require the complete demolition of the 1800 and 1900 housing areas.
As part of the privatization plan, Langley officials developed an agreement with state and federal authorities that's aimed at protecting historic resources in compliance with compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
In addition to the more than 170 National Register of Historic Places-eligible historic houses and support buildings, a cemetery, and three National Register-eligible archaeological sites being transferred to the care of BLB Privatized Housing, LLC, officials here are prepared to redesign portions of the housing development plan, remove and curate any found archaeological materials, and take other actions as determined during the survey.