Buuuuzzzzzzz. Ashley Leger’s phone vibrates. She dons a neon vest, hard hat, and goggles. Then she climbs down into a massive hole and gently brushes debris from a lump in the dirt. Could this be “the big find”?
Leger is a paleontologist, a fossil researcher. But she isn’t sifting sand in Egypt or dredging mud in Brazil. Instead, she’s part of a construction crew burrowing under the streets of Los Angeles, California. Transportation officials there are extending a subway line to the city’s west side. A paleontologist on a city construction project? That’s unexpected!
The multi-year, multi-phase subway project is controversial. Historic neighborhoods may lose buildings; the project will cost billions of dollars. Money for the subway comes from federal grants and increased taxes. Part of that goes to hire paleontologists.
California’s strict environmental laws require experts to be present at certain construction sites. The on-site paleontologists watch for fossils unearthed by construction crews. Some of these fossils may have been buried since the Genesis flood!
Leger’s 10-person team works underground nearly 24/7. Team members shine bright lights as excavators claw into the dirt four stories underground. “They’re making sure that they’re recovering every single fossil that could possibly show up,” Leger says. Work doesn’t completely stop for bone sightings—it just continues in a different location.
Since work on the extension began, fossils routinely turn up—bison vertebrae, a mastodon tooth, a camel foreleg.
The biggest discovery came about a year ago. One of Leger’s team spotted a speck of bone. At first, Leger thought it was a partial elephant skull. After 15 hours of digging, the team uncovered the intact cranium of a juvenile mammoth. The head was the size of an armchair. It was especially rare because both tusks were attached.
“It’s an absolute dream come true,” says Leger. “It’s the one fossil you always want to find in your career.” Leger’s team carefully hauled the skull to the nearby La Brea Tar Pits and Museum for further examination.
La Brea Assistant Curator Emily Lindsey praises California’s efforts to ensure science and urban development overlap. She points out, “Most of the past is below the ground, so you’re only going to find it when you dig.” She bemoans what treasures may have been lost before the preservation regulations of the 1990s.
City officials hope to finish L.A.’s subway extension well before the city hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Leger and her team keep fossil hunting beneath the homes, streets, and stadiums of Los Angeles.
