Documentary Highlights Gault Site

Expansive attention has recently focused on the Gault Archaeological Site in Bell County. Much of the attention is due to the PBS documentary "The Stones Are Speaking” by filmmaker Olive Talley. 

Talley wrote, directed, and produced the film, which is now available on PBS and other streaming platforms to not only tell the story of how the prehistoric site has upended our understanding of the peopling of the Americas but also the perseverance of the University of Texas at Austin archaeologist Mike Collins who through great personal sacrifice, saved this piece of rural land for the greater good.

The prehistoric Gault site has provided extensive evidence of early human occupation in North America. It yielded over 2.6 million artifacts, including tools and projectile points, spanning from the Clovis period (13,000 years ago) to earlier evidence dating up to 20,000 years ago. One of the most notable discoveries is engraved limestone, estimated to be among the earliest known examples of art in the Americas.

Archeologists have been studying the Gault Site for about 100 years.  A heightened sense of urgency about preserving the site intensified due to fears that modern developers would build over the site and the frequency of looters carting off archaeological remains. 

That’s why the documentary not only tells the history of the site but also the story of the Texans who have helped preserve it. In 2007, Michael Collins, a University of Texas at Austin archeologist, used his own money to acquire the site to preserve it. Collins formed the nonprofit Gault School and donated the site to The Archaeological Conservancy.

The Gault site has since been recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a Texas State Antiquities Landmark, underscoring its importance in understanding the early human history of the Americas. Archeologists from around the world have excavated about 3 percent of the site, resulting in the extraction of some 2.6 million artifacts.

Talley was called to do the documentary for the paradigm-shattering knowledge it provides about our ancient predecessors.

“As our ancestors go farther and farther back, it just makes you wonder,” Talley told the Texas Monthly in 2022. “We know from archeology and anthropology a lot about ancestry in Africa. We know a lot about ancestry in Europe and other continents. We’re still learning so much about ancestry in North America.”

For those interested, the Williamson Museum in Georgetown, Texas, offers tours of the Gault site and an opportunity to explore the rich archaeological history of the area.

For more on this story:

Gault School of Archaeological Research  I May 2025

How a Texas filmmaker uncovered one of the most important archaeological sites in the Americas I CBS News  I  May 16, 2025

Documentary unearths the story of an unknown Texas archaeological treasure trove I Texas Standard  I  May 5, 2025