In late October, remnants of Typhoon Halong battered Alaska’s Quinhagak village, unearthing ancient artifacts and accelerating the race to salvage them before the Bering Sea claims the site. The Nunalleq dig, active since 2009, faces urgent threats from climate-driven erosion, with volunteers and archaeologists working to preserve Yup’ik cultural treasures.
Jenny Matthew and her husband stumbled upon a 400- to 600-year-old wooden bowl during a post-storm survey of Quinhagak’s coastline, a discovery that underscored the fragility of the Nunalleq archaeological site. The storm, which displaced over a thousand people across western Alaska, not only scattered artifacts but also eroded the land buffer between the Bering Sea and the dig site, exposing more of the buried remnants of ancestral sod houses. I'll be damned if I'm going to leave this for the waves,
said Rick Knecht, principal archaeologist, as teams worked to recover as much as possible before the next storm.
The Storm’s Unearthing and the Race to Rescue
Last October’s flooding left the Nunalleq site covered by feet of water, with many valuable objects taken when it receded. Among the items were hand-carved animals, grass rope, sewing needles, and ornate wooden masks—objects that had been preserved by the frozen ground. According to the archaeologists, the frozen ground has helped preserve artifacts composed of organic material, which they say would have likely eroded under different conditions. The emergency dig, led by volunteers and funded by groups like the Pacific Northwest Archaeological Society, focused on a smaller area of the site, roughly the size of a backyard pool, where sod houses dating back 400 to 500 years had been dug around.
Climate Change and the Erosion of the Past
Shorelines in this part of Alaska are now more vulnerable to erosion due, in part, to decreasing sea ice and permafrost thaw, both fueled by human-caused climate change. Knecht said that since the dig began, they’ve watched the Bering Sea creep closer and closer to the site. Last October's storm closed the distance even more,
he said. The team’s efforts include creating watercolor illustrations of artifacts excavated from the Nunalleq dig site and making pieces of Quinhagak’s past available for their direct descendants to access, along with the public, at the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center — a museum-style building and lab.
Elizabeth Church, director of Quinhagak Heritage Inc., which manages the center as well as the dig, highlighted the community’s determination to protect its heritage. We all as humans want to know who we are and where we come from, and having the Nunalleq there for us strengthens that,
she said, stressing the significance of the artifacts. The nonprofit oversees the dig and is raising funds through a GoFundMe campaign to return next summer. It's like you might as well take those pieces of artwork we're finding and skip it off into the Bering Sea,
Knecht added, underscoring the stakes of the work.
A Community’s Stewardship of Its Ancestors’ Legacy
The Nunalleq dig has become a symbol of resilience for Quinhagak’s residents. When you know that you come from a people that were so resilient … you get a boost,
said Church, reflecting on seeing the artifacts exploded onto the beach as traumatic and underscoring the community’s desire to steward their ancestors’ belongings. The site’s preservation efforts are supported by individuals like volunteer excavator John Rundall, Kenneth McElroy examining pieces of leather he excavated, and Stephanie Harold creating watercolor illustrations of artifacts.
As the team prepares to hope to return to the site next summer, the urgency remains clear. Church said seeing the artifacts exploded onto the beach underscored the community’s desire to steward their ancestors’ belongings. Knecht said they hope to return to the site next summer, though they’re still raising the money to do so through a GoFundMe campaign and Quinhagak Heritage Inc., the nonprofit that oversees the dig.