Whoops Archaeologist loses important artifact

On the morning of Sept. 20, archaeologist David Peterson misplaced a carved stone artifact in the vicinity of the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center parking lot. Peterson, who is conducting research at the University of Chicago, was working with colleagues at Northwestern's Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Cook Hall before he lost the relic.

The artifact is a carved rectangular stone marked with horizontal dashes and circular designs; it is less than four inches long and about half an inch thick. The artifact was recovered from the Eurasian steppes and is an important piece of Peterson's research. The archaeologist has posted signs near SPAC and surrounding buildings but without success.

Although the relic has no monetary value, it has great research value to archaeologists studying ancient Eurasian metalworking, Peterson said.