Remnants of Typhoon Halong, which struck Alaska earlier this month, have unearthed thousands of ancient artifacts from a culturally significant Yup'ik archaeological site near the Bering Sea. The storm surge consumed dozens of feet of shoreline in the western Alaska community of Quinhagak, washing away possibly thousands of unearthed items. About 1,000 pieces—including wooden spoons, toys, a fishing lure, and a fragment of a mask preserved for centuries in permafrost—were recovered during low tide.
Rick Knecht, an archaeologist who has worked on the Nunalleq project for 17 years, estimated that up to 100,000 artifacts may now be scattered, roughly the number previously recovered from the site. Freezing temperatures and ice have stalled immediate recovery efforts. Knecht described the event as a major loss, noting that the site has yielded the world's largest collection of pre-contact Yup'ik artifacts, which are crucial for understanding Yup'ik life before outsiders arrived.
The original village, whose name is unknown, was attacked and burned around 1650. Knecht has collaborated with Quinhagak elders to combine traditional knowledge with archaeological techniques. The community of about 800 residents relies heavily on subsistence food gathering. The storm has heightened longstanding concerns about climate change, as melting permafrost and coastal erosion threaten both the site and local infrastructure, including a sewage lagoon, homes, and fish camps.
Knecht noted that the excavation project began after artifacts appeared on the beach around 2007. Part of the site that washed out had been partially excavated. When he left in July, a 30-foot buffer to the sea existed; the storm removed that and an additional 30 feet of the site, leaving large clumps of tundra on the tidal flats. Preserving the rescued artifacts involves soaking marine salts from the wood and treating them with special chemicals to prevent cracking.
Archaeologists plan a “rescue excavation” next spring to recover layers exposed by the storm. Knecht likened the situation to the initial discovery in 2009, saying, “We’ve got this raw site with artifacts popping off in every way. We’re starting from scratch again.”
