Ongoing Work at the Lower Mon Project / Leetsdale Archaeology Site

The Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District is involved in a major construction project to improve navigation on the Lower Monongahela River by making improvements at two existing navigation facilities and eliminating a third.  There are many reasons why the Corps does archaeological studies.  In this instance, the Lower Monongahela River Braddock dam construction project involved federal funding and federal permitting, so a cultural resource investigation was conducted prior to excavation of the fabrication site as required by federal regulations.  At this construction site located along the floodplain of the Ohio River in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, a major archaeological site, designated Site 36AL480,  was identified.  Three different areas (Areas 1, 2, and 3) within this site were set aside for archaeological  excavations.

The historic component of the site is the remains from a brick factory.  The fieldwork for this was completed in the late spring of 2001.  Prehistoric site excavations began in Area 3 in the summer of 2001. Work on prehistoric site excavations in Area 1 and Area 2 began in 2002 and will finish in 2003.

An excavation block (3m x 3m) is shown here.  (Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image.)

The District's public outreach component of the archaeological investigations has been successful. The public outreach included site tours, opportunities for volunteers to excavate under the supervision of an archaeologist, and educational activities on our website.  Check out our interesting finds that were recovered during other activities associated with the Lower Monongahela River project.  A booklet that explains the results of the historic brickworks excavations for older elementary school groups that visit nearby Old Economy Village is currently in draft form.  In addition, we publish an annual newsletter that covers cultural resources activities associated with the Lower Monongahela River project.

Page last updated on 15 April, 2009

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