SERVICES
Excavating Peter Evans' Mill (ca. 1830s to 1840s) at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Fayette County, Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky‘s Program for Archaeological Research provides a wide range of archaeological, architectural, and historical research services for public and private agencies and organizations across the Commonwealth of Kentucky and surrounding states. These services, funded by contracts and grants, include cultural resource management studies, archaeological testing and excavation, material culture analysis, historical research and interpretation, historic structures studies and documentation, and a wide variety of related technical studies. The contract investigations are most commonly conducted to comply with state or federal regulations. The PAR performs these services for federal, state, and local governmental agencies, environmental and engineering firms, and planners and developers. 

Excavation of millstone made from Eastern Kentucky conglomerate at Evans' Mill.

The PAR undertakes investigations at sites representing all cultures and time periods in prehistoric and historic archaeology. The unit has conducted all levels of archaeological investigations, i.e., Phase I - survey and site identification, Phase II - site testing and assessment of significance, and Phase III - data recovery and impact mitigation. The PAR also provides historic architectural services, including surveys, assessments of site significance, and data recovery (e.g., preparation of Historic American Buildings Survey [HABS] and Historic American Engineering Records [HAER] documentation on historic structures). PAR staff members regularly conduct archival and documentary research in conjunction with archaeological, architectural, and historical investigations. 

Various mill-related artifacts from Evans' Mill.

The PAR enjoys good working relationships with governmental review agencies (e.g., the Kentucky Heritage Council [SHPO], the Kentucky Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources [SHPO], the U.S. Forest Service, and the Louisville, Nashville, and Huntington District offices of the Corps of Engineers). The PAR also is prequalified for work in historic and prehistoric archaeology by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The unit has an excellent record of prompt and favorable reviews of reports submitted to fulfill federal and state regulations. 

Since the PAR‘s establishment in 1978, the unit has received and completed over 500 research contracts and grants totaling in excess of $6 million. While the PAR's archaeological research activities focus on Kentucky, the geographical range of the unit‘s projects covers the region surrounding Kentucky, including recent projects in Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The PAR‘s staff members also have archaeological experience in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and Virginia.