A "silver lining" to the BP oil spill

[Phidippides]

The BP oil spill has led to an acceleration in the recovery of Indian artifacts from coastal Louisiana.

So far, teams of archaeologists hired by the oil giant have visited more than 100 sites and sent back a growing list of finds to labs for radiocarbon dating and other tests, though extensive excavations haven't been done. Scholars have also accompanied cleanup crews to make sure they don't unwittingly throw away relics.

Oil spill cleanup turns up trove of Indian relics

On the flip side, though, the oil has contributed toward deterioration in some artifacts.  I suppose, though, that these artifacts would not have been recovered for decades without this.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other?