Gault School

The land changed ownership in 1998 and a group from the University of Texas at Austin led by paleontologist Dr.
Ernie Lundelius and archaeologist Dr. Michael Collins were asked by the new owners to look at something they'd
exposed at the site. It turned out to be the lower jaw of a juvenile mammoth and some ancient horse bones
surrounded by a large number of Clovis artifacts.

A three year lease between the University and the landowners allowed the first extensive research excavations at
Gault. Between 1999 and 2002 more than 1.2 million artifacts were recovered - about half of them of Clovis age.
A unique Clovis feature, a stone floor, was discovered as well as more than one hundred engraved stones -
amongst the earliest art in the Americas.

More than 4,000 volunteers worked on the Gault Project during those years ranging from
schoolchildren to graduate students to retirees. A number of universities cooperated in the
excavation including Texas A& M University, Brigham Young University and University of
Exeter. The Texas Archeological Society and its affiliates provided many eager volunteers as well
as groups like the PaleoCultural Research Group from Arizona and the New Hampshire State
Conservation and Rescue Archaeology Program (SCRAP).

In 2006 the Gault School was incorporated in an attempt to work toward acquiring the site and
furthering both our research and educational goals. In February of 2007 that dream became a
reality and both research and education have begun again.