Geoffrey Prince, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 4

Mr. _______________,



As we discussed when you called, I am not comfortable with your request to speak to these matters informally, as I believe there is too much oportunity for mischief and error in the transcription, interpretation and, possibly, in the editorial contextualization that inevitably your duties require. Therefore, I require that you publish this written statement in its entirety or not at all, as I have written it here. Of course, I will maintain a dated copy in my records and will contest any attempt to cite me except by including the complete, unaltered text of this letter.



My name is Geoffrey Fielding Prince. I resided near Kolob, Utah from March 15 of last year through the end of November. I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Utah, and spent those eight and a half months in Kolob managing fieldwork on a dig near Kolob, located on Bureau of Land Management land. As is generally the case with such work, my crew and I spent nearly all of our time at the dig site. We returned to Kolob Town only to pick up our mail, send and receive e-mail, and meet our suppliers. During these brief hours in Kolob, I met only a few residents: Dotti Lyman at the gas station; Dorothea [whose last name I don't know] at the Post Office; a young farmer named Lauro, whom I picked up hitchiking on 144 on July 4; and Officer R. Lyman of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, who gave me a speeding ticket [four miles per hour over the posted limit] on July 5. I recall two or three brief conversations and verbal acknowledgements, too, but I do not remember with whom I spoke. I never lingered in Kolob more than two hours, and spent the night there only once, the night of July 5, at the Black Bear Mesa Motel.

In our conversation yesterday, you asked about the location of the dig site. I am forbidden by the terms of my contract from providing this information. Kolob was the nearest town, and we were on Federal land.

As we discussed, I require that all future communications be in writing through the attorney advising the University on these matters. His contact information is attached.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey F. Prince,
Associate Professor of Archaeology
The University of Utah
Salt Lake City