"Weeks after newspapers reported its existence, one of America's newest archaeological discoveries is under siege.

By the time a national media tour made its way to the rugged, remote site southeast of Salt Lake City on Wednesday, thieves already had arrived to begin spoiling a secret that rancher Waldo Wilcox protected for half a century:

Thousands of undisturbed ruins of ancient Native American habitats straddle a 12-mile stream here, dotting more than 1,000 acres and reaching as high as majestic mountain peaks.

With the help of federal money, the state of Utah bought Wilcox's jewel. Whether the government can now preserve it is a crapshoot.

'When the public gets in,' Wilcox predicted, 'it'll be destroyed.'"

Get the Story:
Jim Spencer: Ancient site a siren call to looters (The Denver Post 7/2)

Related Stories:
Rancher kept major Indian sites hidden for decades (7/1)
Utah buys ranch containing thousands of sites (06/25)