Hurricane Dennis will likely delay efforts to unearth some of Cuba’s historic treasures. Dennis ravaged the island nation last week. One hard-hit region was Cienfuegos on the south central coast.

For years now, a team of archaeologists from the U.S. & Cuba have tried to organize an excavation near there… in hopes of uncovering clues to the island’s native people.

Ethnohistorian Dr. John Worth—head of the Randell Research Center on Pine Island— is part of that effort. He’d planned a trip to Cuba this weekend to discuss the project. He’s since cancelled it, because so many people are in survival mode.

“Most of our contacts down there—including a Cuban archaeologist who’s a friend of ours—have received just severe damage. He, for example, lost the roof on his kitchen. And so he’s trying to stabilize things now. And a lot of the buildings in the area—I think more than 25,000 structures have had damage in Cienfuegos alone. They’re really just trying to take inventory, restore electricity, and water.”

Worth still hopes the excavation project can get underway by early next year. He notes Dennis damaged many treasures already above ground. Many historic buildings took a beating. In Cienfuegos, that includes the internationally-known “Terry Theatre” as well as a storied bay-front hotel.