Atari Products Excavated April 2014 from the Alamogordo, New Mexico Landfill, Site of the 1983 Atari Video Game Burial

Summary

In 1983, rumors circulated: Atari was bankrupt, and was dumping truckloads of games into a New Mexico landfill. Victim to the "Video Game Crash," the company buried 700,000 cartridges in the desert. The story became an obscure pop culture legend -- until "The Atari Tomb" was unearthed in 2014. These images document the world's first video game excavation.

In 1983, rumors circulated: Atari was bankrupt, and was dumping truckloads of games into a New Mexico landfill. Victim to the "Video Game Crash," the company buried 700,000 cartridges in the desert. The story became an obscure pop culture legend -- until "The Atari Tomb" was unearthed in 2014. These images document the world's first video game excavation.

Artifact

Digital print

Subject Date

26 April 2014

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2015.13.18

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the City of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Inkjet printing

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 4.813 in

Width: 8.5 in

Inscriptions

April 2014 Ataris from Dig

Related Content

Connect 3

Discover curious connections between artifacts.

Learn More