Atlantians

Chapter 5

"I can't believe it." Anthony shook his head in awe. "This site matches the other ones that we excavated. Do you think we've really found a new civilization?"

"I don't know Anthony. I just don't know." Katarina stood looking out over their current excavation site. This was their sixth one and it matched all of the others. Every single dig they'd done revealed the same spiral pattern and the same strange stones. This one was different than the others in one key area. This was the first one with pottery. Katarina looked down at the pottery shard that she held in her right hand. It was made out of red clay with black designs. It reminded her of Greek pottery. They'd been on this dig for over three months now and were finally beginning to see an end to the artifacts. A surprise had greeted them yesterday when they'd uncovered the grave of a child. Nothing was left of the child, but the indention of where their body had laid. Radiocarbon dating had dated the grave to around the time of the Clovis people.

"This is big news Katarina."

"I know Anthony! I'm not sure that the world is ready to hear about this. You've seen how bent out of shape people get when it comes to who discovered America or who were the first people of this country. This is going to be a firestorm if we don't handle it appropriately."

Anthony gave his cousin a big smile before he punched her lightly on the arm. "That's why we have you. You're good at problem solving. Our English guests will foot the bill like they have been doing. They truly don't care about the monetary value of what we find. They enjoy discovering new things. That's why I found them and brought them here."

"I'm still not sure about them Anthony, but they have helped us and they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty."

"They grew up around this type of stuff Kat. That's why they are so passionate about it. Both of their families have had a hand in excavations since the 1800s. This is in their blood and they enjoy doing it."

"Okay Anthony! I get it. Now please drop it. I need to figure out how to present this to the public."

"What about a press conference?"

Katarina and Anthony turned at the soft voice and saw Christiana standing there. She was a completely different girl than she had been three months ago. It was a good change and Katarina was happy for her. Christiana stood shyly by and looked bashfully at Anthony. Katarina hid a smile. Katarina and Anthony had talked about Christiana's infatuation with him. It would do both of them good if they got together.

"Why do you say that?"

"Isn't that the way people in Egypt do it?" Christiana shrugged a little self consciously. "I figure if that's how they get their discoveries out, why don't we do the same. We'll present the evidence and then let the public decide."

Anthony looked impressed. "That's a very good idea Christiana."

Christiana flushed in pleasure at Anthony's praise. "Thanks,' she murmured demurely.