Exhibit at UO museum features artifacts from local cemetery excavation

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 18, 2008) -- "Science in the News – The Stevens' Family Cemetery Exhibit," featuring remains discovered at the William M. Stevens' family cemetery, is now on display at the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History, 1680 E. 15th Ave.

The exhibit includes coffin handles, clothing buttons, nails and screws unearthed during this summer’s excavation of the Stevens family cemetery. The Stevens are considered the first pioneering family to have settled in the Springfield area.

The cemetery was discovered in May when a backhoe operator unearthed what appeared to be a human bone. Shortly after the discovery, University of Oregon archaeologists from the Museum of Natural and Cultural History were asked to recover and examine the findings. Artifacts discovered during the excavation include clothing items and coffin hardware as well as human remains.

Information detailing the history of the site and the recovery process are also included in the exhibit.

Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is $3 for adults; $2 for seniors and youths ages 17 and under; and $8 for families (two adults and up to four youths). Museum members, university faculty and staff and students are admitted free. Admission is free for the public on Wednesdays and each UO Ducks home football game weekend.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu

Links: UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History, http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/

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