(ABC 6 News) – It’s quite a search in Mower County as many pick up their shovels and magnifying glasses in search of artifacts.

The search is part of a partnership with the county historical society and Hamline University for a year of archaeological research.

Now the mission is to find artifacts and evidence of Native American activities over thousands of years.

There are already 82 archaeological sites in Mower County, some dating back to the 1940s.

Local owners and collectors are lending a helping hand to researchers trying to understand what happened there over the past 12,000 years.

Researchers recently learned of a collection hidden in an attic that is now at the Adams Historical Society.

Groundwork in Hamline will continue through next spring.