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PALISADES KIVA

May 2008
Excavated:  April 9-17 and May 5-14, 2008
Image Taken:  May 12, 2008
Backfilled:  May 14, 2008


Kivas are subterranean ceremonial structures used for religious purposes by modern Puebloan tribes. Many kivas are circular in shape and have a hearth in the middle of the room with a ventilator shaft at the southeastern face of the room. This kiva was probably built and used for only a short time around A.D. 1050-1080. It may have fallen into disuse due to the collapse of the north wall.

This kiva had been completely buried by sediment and was located only through excavation.  While archaeologists had long realized that an archaeological site was located here, nothing exposed on the surface indicated that a complete kiva was buried beneath the dunes.

Learn more about the excavation of the kiva here.