Archaeologist Homer Thiel is working on the excavation of the remains of a pit house built 2,000 years ago in Arizona (USA), well before the time of the Hohokam, and forms begin to jell - an arced pattern where posts once held up a roof, linear depressions where walls stood. "This was not known before. This tells us this same spot was lived in for 2,000 years," said Thiel, project director for Desert Archaeology Inc.
     The pit house in the back yard is a significant discovery."It's from the early agricultural period, so that was a surprise," said Marty McCune, historic-preservation officer for the city of Tucson. Older pit houses have been found west of Congress by "A" Mountain, but this is one of the oldest found east of the Santa Cruz River, McCune said.
     The pit house will be studied, covered with protective cloth and filled back in with dirt.

Source: Arizona Daily Star (29 June 2005)