Bill Green has supervised exploration of more than 250 potentially historic sites around the Southeast.

And he knew the group working atop a bluff along the lower Saluda River was onto something special.

Over eight months, each shovelful of dirt revealed new finds — arrowheads, spear points, eating tools, pottery shards, dwelling posts, a hearth — with eventually more than 35,000 artifacts recovered.

Some items are estimated to be as much as 13,500 years old.

The site, about a mile below the Lake Murray dams, apparently was a longtime meeting and trading spot for migrant tribes, many of whose names and culture are unknown, local archaeologists say.

The finds — tools, eating implements and weapons, among other things — should provide multiple clues about ancient life, archaeologists say.

The site was discovered in 2006 as part of a federally required search of parcels with possible historic significance. That search was among the things required of South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. as part of a review of its lake operations.