Northcentral
Chapter 8, Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology
Celebrate
Archaeology Month
Archaeology Month is sponsored
by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,
the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., and the
Pennsylvania Archaeological Council. Its purpose is to
increase awareness of the important historic and prehistoric
archaeological sites in the Commonwealth. These sites
are part of the heritage of all Pennsylvanians. Everyday,
archaeological sites are destroyed. We hope that through
the Archaeology Month events, more Pennsylvanians become
aware of this part of our history and work to protect
our endangered resources.
Celebrate
2008 Archaeology Month at Muncy Heritage Park
MUNCY – October is Pennsylvania
Archaeology Month and several events and presentations
are scheduled in celebration. Muncy Historical Society,
sponsor of the only Public Archaeology Dig in the area,
will host an Archaeology Day Open House from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, at the Muncy Heritage Park and
Nature Trail on Pepper Street along the Susquehanna River.
In the event of inclement weather, the Open House will
be relocated to the archaeology lab and boat building
facility in the 200 block of Pepper Street.
Tours of the historic West Branch
Canal, the archaeology excavation, and the site of the
Last Raft Crash, are highlights of the event. The
master site plan for the park will be discussed and samples
of the park’s interpretive panels will be on display.
Hot dogs and
beverages will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The
first 100 children will receive complimentary “History
Kits” to interest them in local history and archaeology,
and to promote the cultural heritage of communities along
the Susquehanna.
The Muncy Historical Society excavation,
now in its fourth year, is a collaboration with Lycoming
College, serving as an academic field school, and with
the Pennsylvania College of Technology. During the spring, summer and fall the supervised excavation
site is opened to the public. Take a look at the photo gallery from 2005 to present by clicking here >>>
Excavations at the Muncy Canal
began in 2005 at Lock No. 21 of the West Branch Canal.
In 2007, students located the foundation of the lockkeeper's
house.
More than 2,500 visitors from throughout
North America as well as Great Britain and Asia have benefited
from this site. Public and private schools use it as educational
field trips, families spend quality time working together,
and Scouts earn badges there. This community-oriented
activity has gained in popularity and each weekend dozens
of individuals have experienced hands-on history.
According to Muncy Historical Society’s
president, Bill Poulton, the small town owes its economic
and social success to the success of the canal system.
"Without the West Branch Canal system bringing products
in and allowing our farmers and merchants to ship product
out, we would not have been able to grow," Poulton
said. "The growth of Muncy is directly tied to the
canal system."
The historical society has offered
outreach programs, community lectures, exhibits and hands-on
demonstrations in connection with the project. Exhibits
also have been created and lent to requesting organizations,
and information about the project has been distributed
through Internet sites, museum publications, brochures
and site tours.
Now in its 17th year, “Save
Our Past for the Future” is a program aimed at children
and an annual essay is organized by the Pennsylvania Archaeological
Council for students in fourth through ninth grades. Lesson
plans, a speakers list and other resources are available
online at www.PennArchaeologyMonth.org.
More information about the Muncy
Public Archaeology Project is available online at www.MuncyHistoricalSociety.org
or by calling 546-5917.
About
Archaeology
SAVE THE PAST FOR
THE FUTURE
Once the Archaeologist has agreed to investigate a project,
she is ready to survey the site. Surveying is a lot like
taking a huge piece of graph paper and placing it down
over the site. The graph is called a site grid. By digging
on a site grid, you can be sure that all of the squares
or units on the site are the same size.
The next step is to remove the sod and topsoil, which
is usually the modern grass level. Sod is removed with
shovels by digging up the soil in narrow and shallow strips.
Shovel shining is removing the topsoil by skimming the
surface with the shovel blade, taking a thin layer of
soil off the surface.
Now the excavation is ready to begin. Sites are dug in
square units. The size of the unit is usually decided
by the Archaeologist. Special attention is paid to layers
and features.
Believe it or not, the ground is arranged in layers,
kind of like a layer cake. When you find a layer in your
unit, it will usually cover the whole floor of your unit.
You can tell when you’ve reached a new layer when
the color of the soil, or its make-up (texture) changes.
Archaeologists dig with trowels, exactly like those used
by a bricklayer but smaller.
A feature is an artifact that is too large to move. A
feature might be anything from a filled in pit to a foundation
wall or floor.
If you find a feature while you’re digging, you
will have to draw a top (topographical) plan of it. A
top plan is a drawing that gives you a bird’s eye
view of the feature. It is drawn to scale, which means
that it is measured as it is drawn, and shrunk down to
fit on a piece of graph paper. A good scale for a top
plan is for 10 cm on the ground to equal 1 cm (or one
square) on the graph paper. The feature is then dug out
separately from the layer(s) around it. Artifacts found
inside the feature are kept in a separate bag from the
ones found in the layer(s) around it. Once the feature
has been dug out, you have to draw a cross section of
it. A cross section is a drawing that looks as if you’ve
cut the feature in half. It tells the Archaeologist what
shape it was, and possibly, how it was created and destroyed.
A cross section is also drawn to scale.
Dirt is sifted through a screen to make sure no artifacts
were missed while digging. Artifacts found in each layer
are bagged separately from the ones found in the layer(s)
above and below it. Detailed notes, photos, and maybe
even videos are taken about everything that is done or
found on the site while digging.
A unit is usually dug until you find subsoil. Subsoil
is different in each area, but it is usually a hard clay
or sand. Subsoil is sterile, which means there are no
artifacts in it. Sometimes, you might find some non-historic
features in the subsoil. These are features made by prehistoric
Indians (Native Americans), more than 400 years ago. Once
you find subsoil in your unit and you are sure it is sterile,
you can draw a profile of the unit. A profile is a drawing
of the walls of your unit showing the layers (and features)
you found as you were digging. A profile is also drawn
to scale
Once the profiles have been drawn and photographed, you
can backfill the unit. When you backfill, you are filling
in the unit so that the area can be returned to the way
it was before you started digging.
Artifacts and notes are taken back to the lab for analysis.
It is in the lab that the Archaeologist looks at all of
the information found in the field and tries to piece
it all together. Analyzing a site is like putting together
thousands of small pieces of a huge puzzle to see what
it looks like. Once the puzzle has been put together,
the Archaeologist tells what she thinks it means in the
site report.
