THE VOLPENTEST HAMMER
TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTER

Cultural Resource Awareness Training
Cultural Sensitivity Training
Indian Lake

The Volpentest HAMMER Training and Education Center is a facility managed by Fluor Hanford for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). www.hammertraining.com

The HAMMER Cultural Resources Test Bed dates to 1994 when the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Training Facility (HAMMER) www.hammertraining.com responded to a request from Hanford Area Tribes to help develop non-destructive tools to assist in the location of human burials and other important resources. A 7-acre parcel was set aside for cultural resources research and training. Planning for a geophysical test bed commenced. Through consultation with the tribes, the idea for a surface component also emerged to assist in educating people, for example, law enforcement officers, in the identification of archaeological sites artifacts, and looted sites.

The Cultural Resource Test Bed today consists of two major components.

1. The “surface” component consists of approximately 15 sites constructed by the CRPP, including housepits, burials, lithic scatters, and historic dumps. The surface component is used primarily for trainings where it provides opportunities for people to see artifacts (reproductions) in context.
2. The “subsurface” component, named the Remote Target Test Bed, consists of a trench 30m x 10m in size where approximately 30 archaeological features have been constructed; examples include burials, pre-historic trash dumps, lithic caches, brick wells, and earth ovens. The subsurface component is used for geophysical experimentation such as ground penetrating radar (Woody and Stapp).

(click here to download PDF of Test Bed info)
(click here to download PDF of Test Bed pictures)

Examples of trainings conducted at HAMMER include the following:

- For 6 years the CRPP have sponsored the Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) Training for Law Enforcement at HAMMER (see attached articles by Longenecker and Van Pelt).

- The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has requested CRPP to conduct sensitivity trainings for many of its staff, from high-level managers to field personnel.

- The CRPP have used the test bed to train their cultural resource technicians in archaeological field methods.

- The International Association of Illustrators held a one-day training facilitated by CRPP that focused on stone tool artifact illustration.

- The Girl Scouts help a one-day cultural awareness training as part of Archaeology Month in 2003 facilitated by CRPP and the Hanford Cultural Resources Laboratory.

- Larry Conyers of the University of Denver, a renowned ground penetrating radar expert, came to use the subsurface facility to enhance his techniques.

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