# After how many decades would old landfills become archaeologically interesting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 26, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258 "2011-05-26T06:09:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258/1 "2011-05-26T06:09:33Z")

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This thing in [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/business/market/atari.asp) today got me thinking, at what point would an archaeologist consider it worthwhile to go digging in a local landfill? I’m pretty sure that Jamestown’s garbage dump might yield some interesting artifacts, but anything from the 70s onward probably would not. Is there an agreed-upon point somewhere in the middle of that timeline? Examples?

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**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258/2 "2011-05-26T08:57:59Z")

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that national geographic special on garbology. the answer to your question is anywhere from a few years to several thousand years.

new york sanitarity fills were studied in the 80s. a half-eaten steak in 1978 was still intact. they dated the items using the newspapers buried along with the other goodies. they noted a rise in condom use during the herpes and then the dawning of the aids era.

after maybe a few hundred years, organic material would rot and carbonize and all you will have are the metals, glass and ceramics.

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258/3 "2011-05-26T22:45:18Z")

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In the 80s, my old Archaeology Prof, Professor Honerkamp, did a did in a 19th Century steel foundry, Civil War Era.

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**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-decades-would-old-landfills-become-archaeologically-interesting/583258/4 "2011-05-26T23:21:08Z")

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Before anyone asks, the relevant SF story about landfill archaeology is “Detritus Affected” by David Brin.