SO MUCH for the naysayers who dismissed the notion that scientific finds of any real importance would be made under the Caesars casino site. They were wrong.

A just-completed $13 million dig, required by those big, bad government regulators, uncovered what archaeologists are calling the most extraordinary site in the Eastern United States.

Some of the more feverish proponents of the gambling boat had originally scorned the excavation as just a delaying tactic, , but the project has produced artifacts that fill 1,000 storage boxes. The 30,000 items will provide subjects for scientific inquiry, many years into the future. As a result, we'll learn more about early human habitation in this region, especially Native American life along the river.

The stuff is so impressive, from ceramic shards to stone tools, that the state museum in Indianapolis and the Caesars managers are talking about putting some of it on display.

What an irony it would be if the Caesars complex becomes a tourist destination, not just because of the blackjack tables and resort rooms but also for its relics of riverside culture.

If you think none of these finds have any relevance for today, think again. Among other things, the archaeologists found deep deposits of debris that suggest those early inhabitants weren't the nomads we've always thought they were. Instead, the evidence suggests they stayed by the river long enough to accumulate a lot of trash, and dump it down the riverbank. Unfortunately, that tradition continues, every pretty day when boaters picnic up and down the Ohio.

The next time you hear promoters of some major project scorn the tree huggers and snail darter advocates, the archeology crews and cultural historians, tell them what a thorough study of the Caesars site produced. And ask, ``Can you dig it?''