 Although the site is covered with agricultural plots, numerous cobble house foundations and upright boulders are present throughout the area indicating the presence of an archaeological site.Excavations at Rivas began in 1992 under the direction of Jeffrey Quilter of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.His excavations identified structures similar to those found by Drolet at the site of Murciélago, Costa Rica.