Project:
Educational Programming

Location:
Western Pennsylvania

Our Role:
Programming and exhibits

How archaeologists find sites and what they find is of great interest to the public. The compelling stories of Native Americans, early settlers, traders, and the military are enhanced by the archaeological investigations conducted here in western Pennsylvania. Both adults and children can participate in excavations to learn more about cultures who lived in our region for thousands of years.

Additional Interest: CDC provides education programming for students and educators particularly in communities where our excavations are conducted. Two members of CDC’s staff have degrees in education and archeology.

Project:
Ulster American Folk Park springhouse

Location:
West Deer Township, Allegheny County

Our Role:
Documentation; Paint & Mortar Analysis

CDC documented the history and construction of this log springhouse before it was moved to Ireland. Mortar and paint samples were extracted. Each log was numbered and carefully packed into a large shipping box for the trip over the Atlantic Ocean. Michael Cummings dismantled the building. The Cunningham Springhouse was part of the Cunningham Farm located in West Deer Township. The family arrived from Ireland in 1810 and purchased 200 acres of land for their family farm. The family’s log springhouse with an overhsot roof system was preserved by the Dillner family who later bought the property.

Additional Interest: The log springhouse was moved in 1999 to the Ulster American Folk Park, an open-air museum in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The museum tells the story of emigration from Ulster to America in the 18th & 19th centuries and provides visitors with a “living history” experience on its outdoor site.

Project:
Cranberry Township Development Site

Location:
Cranberry Township, Butler County

Our Role:
Phase I and II Archaeology; Exhibit

CDC found nine archaeological sites dating from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 95 on the rim of an ancient cranberry bog in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. More than 3,400 artifacts were found. The sites date to the Early and Middle Woodland periods and provide a continuum for these cultures in the Brush and Pine Creek watersheds. Native Americans occupying these sites were influenced by complex interregional trade systems known as the Adena and Hopewell Interaction Spheres centered in Ohio.

Additional Interest: Cranberry Township and the Cranberry Historical Society funded an educational exhibit of the archaeological artifacts. In the future, an interpretive sign project will be developed.

Client:
Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.

Project:
Hot Metal Bridge Exhibit

Location:
Pittsburgh

Awards:
National Historic Planning Landmarks Award for City of Pittsburgh

“Outstanding Highway Engineering Award 2008″ ASHE Pittsburgh

Our Role:
Section 106 documentation, exhibit concept, design and installation

CDC completed all cultural resource studies for the project including the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Documentation, the Criteria of Effect Report, and an interpretive exhibit at Carnegie-Mellon University Research Institute.

Additional Interest: To preserve their important history and technology, the URA and project engineers worked together to ensure that the rehabilitation efforts were consistent with Federal standards and guidelines. Before any changes were made to the bridges, CDC documented their existing conditions through photographs, original blueprints, and a historical study. CDC also designed an interpretive sign for the Hot Metal Bridge to be placed on the Eliza Furnace Trail. As hikers and bikers cross the famous old bridge, they experience spectacular views of the city and observe the old J&L mill sites now redeveloped as new residential and commercial developments reflecting the latest chapter in Pittsburgh’s history.

Project:
Archaeology in the Outfield Exhibit

Location:
Pittsburgh

Awards:
American Cultural Resource Association 2002

Our Role:
Phase I & II Surveys; Data Recovery, Historic Structure Survey; Exhibit

CDC completed all cultural resource studies for the PNC Park: Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The General Robinson Site was found buried beneath 17 feet of modern fill. Hundreds of ceramic, glass and wood objects from the 1832 flood were brought to the surface after being buried for 166 years. The collection is one of the earliest and most significant in the City of Pittsburgh. As mitigation for impacts to this site, CDC installed a permanent exhibit at PNC Park to display the artifacts found there.

Additional Interest: The Pirates donated all artifacts, field notes and photographs to Carnegie Museum. Among the important artifacts were a complete wooden door, porcelain from China, a water pitcher from England, and plate with a scene from Don Quixote.  General Robinson owned the property that became the Mexican War Streets on Pittsburgh’s North Side. 

Beneath the artifacts owned by General Robinson was an intact level with Native American arrow points, pottery and corn preserved under 17 feet of concrete and flood deposits.

Project:
General Robinson Site Exhibit

Location:
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County

Our Role:
Exhibit design and installation

The Carnegie Science Center exhibited the first artifacts from the General Robinson Site found beneath PNC Park. In 1832, a catastrophic flood inundated General Robinson’s house on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The family’s possessions ended up in the back yard covered with mud left behind from the floodwaters. Before construction of PNC Park, CDC found the General’s backyard buried beneath 17 feet of modern fill. Hundreds of ceramic, glass and wood objects from the 1832 flood were brought to the surface after being buried for 166 years. The collection is one of the earliest and most significant in the City of Pittsburgh.