{"id":3195,"date":"2026-07-07T22:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195"},"modified":"2026-07-07T22:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:04:53","slug":"on-risky-ground-secrecy-surrounds-casita-village-archaeological-excavation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195","title":{"rendered":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A nearly year-long archaeological excavation at the proposed Casita Village development site on Tucson\u2019s northeast side has drawn scrutiny from neighbors and raised unanswered questions about what was found underground \u2014 including whether human remains were encountered.<\/p>\n

Read more Heavy police presence at home near Ina, Old Father<\/a><\/p>\n

The excavation took place along the Agua Caliente Wash. Drone video captured excavation pits and survey flags spread across the property over the course of the dig. Neither the City of Tucson nor WestLand Resources, the archaeological consulting firm overseeing the work, agreed to speak on camera. Responses came only through email.<\/p>\n

Neighbors say they were kept in the dark<\/h2>\n

Neighbor Tom Adang said the scope of the work grew over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we were able to see, the neighbors and residents nearby could see, is that it started small and it got bigger,\u201d Adang said. \u201cWe just see the archaeological work expanding substantially over the course of that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neighbor Jane Rojas said the city had promised to keep residents informed as the development moved forward, but those updates never came.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no progress reports,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cWe have no progress reports about anything that\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archaeology among 23 required conditions<\/h2>\n

City records show archaeology is one of 23 conditions the Casita Village developer must address before construction can begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of those conditions was to evaluate the area for Native American remains,\u201d Adang said.<\/p>\n

Sharon Urban, a retired archaeologist who spent decades working on sites across Arizona, said discoveries in this part of Tucson are not unusual.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t move without getting archaeological site material,\u201d Urban said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that has to be reckoned with no matter what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historical records document ancient settlement<\/h2>\n

Two archaeological studies found in historical records document ancient settlement in the Houghton Road corridor. Those studies describe prehistoric homes, burials, cremations and other cultural features dating back thousands of years.<\/p>\n

Neighbor Rollie Hoch said county officials were aware of the area\u2019s significance decades ago.<\/p>\n

Read more Lauren Bennett, who was featured on LMFAO hit \u2018Party Rock Anthem,\u2019 dies at 37<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey knew of the archaeological village down there,\u201d Hoch said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t know the extent of it, but they knew of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials said archaeological studies were not required at the time of rezoning, but acknowledged the area\u2019s historic significance was important enough to require archaeology conditions.<\/p>\n

Human remains question goes unanswered<\/h2>\n

Urban said the discovery of human remains changes the nature of the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are pretty standard, but then you get into burial recovery mode, things are different because the Native Americans are involved in recovering bodies,\u201d Urban said. \u201cIt takes a whole day to remove one burial \u2014 and it\u2019s intensive work to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

An expert in flood control said large archaeological excavations can cost millions of dollars in some cases. City records show WestLand Resources spent nearly a year excavating the property \u2014 well beyond the original timeline.<\/p>\n

The city confirmed the project involved a Burial Discovery Agreement, work with the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation, and references to mortuary features. When asked directly whether human remains were encountered, neither the city nor WestLand responded.<\/p>\n

The city said it reviewed WestLand\u2019s final report and approved it. A request for the report \u2014 and even a summary of its findings \u2014 was declined, with the city citing state law protecting sensitive archaeological resources.<\/p>\n

The city said archaeological monitoring will continue during future construction and that the project remains under review. No permits can be issued until all conditions are met.<\/p>\n

====================================================<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Woman found dead at Sabino Canyon not U.S. citizen<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Tucson development required a Burial Discovery Agreement and work with the Tohono O’odham Nation \u2014 but officials won’t reveal what was found<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Tucson development required a Burial Discovery Agreement and work with the Tohono O'odham Nation \u2014 but officials won't reveal what was found\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195\"},\"wordCount\":681,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195\",\"name\":\"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3195#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"A Tucson development required a Burial Discovery Agreement and work with the Tohono O'odham Nation \u2014 but officials won't reveal what was found","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation","datePublished":"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195"},"wordCount":681,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195","name":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-07T22:04:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3195#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ON RISKY GROUND: Secrecy surrounds Casita Village archaeological excavation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}