Archaeologists Launch Large Dig in Va.

Archaeologists are expected to begin searching thousands of acres on the Middle Peninsula this summer for Indian artifacts, marking one of the biggest investigations of its kind in Virginia history.

The area to be explored is the future site of a reservoir approved for construction last year, a project that has drawn fierce opposition from three Indian tribes.

The tribes also are upset about the archaeological dig, which will focus on 6,000 acres of forests and fields.

"Let the poor people rest, let the artifacts rest," said Warren Cook, assistant chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.

The Pamunkey, Mattaponi and Upper Mattaponi tribes have refused to sign an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which governs the archaeological project.

But their opposition is largely symbolic. Under federal law, Newport News must locate archaeological resources under threat from the reservoir and protect them or mitigate their loss.