Archaeology
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. 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.
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. |
Three different areas
(Areas 1, 2, and 3) within this site were set aside for archaeological excavations.
Updated: 20-May-2010