Donner Lake archaeology dig to begin

Under a plot of land that may soon house the newest museum honoring the Donner Party’s tragic journey over the Sierra Nevada, sit pieces of history dating back almost 9,000 years.

These artifacts — whether they be musket balls, earrings, or Washoe cooking ovens — will come out of the ground this summer, as a team of archaeologists descends on Donner Memorial State Park to dig, catalogue and analyze the earth.

The archaeological investigation will be only the second dig of its magnitude at the lakeside location where dozens of the Donner Party died of starvation, said Susan Lindström, a local archaeologist who has studied the Donner Party for 30 years.