|
Project: Location: Our Role: A Phase I Archaeological Survey was completed prior to construction of Pittsburgh’s new Convention Center. At a depth of over 10 feet, artifacts dating from 1830 to 1860 were found including English ceramics, leather shoes, and a unique redware vessel type.
Project: Location: Our Role: CDC inventoried and assessed 681 historic and heritage sites in Beaver County and created a series of interpretive themes. A master plan with mapping of inventoried properties was included. The consulting team consisting of cultural resource managers, engineers, an environmental planner, and an architect will assess historic and heritage sites for the following purposes: 1) to determine the potential site significance; 2) to prepare property descriptions; 3) to accurately delineate the site on project mapping; 4) to determine property ownership; 5) to prepare recommendations for future planning purposes; 6) to define the property’s condition and identify potential environmental issues or other problems that could relate with future use, development or acquisition. Additional Interest: The Preservation Plan provided vision and direction for promoting the county’s cultural resources and for protecting their rich heritage.
Project: Location: Our Role: The Enlow Fork Mine Expansion project, involved 1,453 acres of land and 52 archaeological sites. During cultural resource surveys conducted by CDC, over 40,000 artifacts were found. Three large features, each filled with up to a ton of fire-cracked rocks, are believed to represent cremation mounds. Radiocarbon dates and stone tools found on the site confirm the occupation is at last 3,000 years old. Additional Interest: Two historic farmsteads and a one-room school house were eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. As one of the mitigation measures for the cultural resources found at EFX, Consol worked with the community to develop a plan for moving the school house to a new location. Tags: Adena
Project: Location: Our Role: Before developing the Westmoreland Technology Park near New Stanton, extensive archaeological excavations were conducted on one of the largest Native American villages in northeastern United States. The village involved over 7.2 acres and hundreds of houses like the one shown above. Additional Interest: The Sony Site, a significant place for thousands of years, was located on a Holocene swamp. The Westmoreland County Planning Department and the Archaeological Conservancy proposed a preservation plan to include 13 acres of archaeological sites, 1/2 mile of Braddock’s Road, and 7 1/2 acres of contiguous wetlands. This was to be the first such preservation effort in Pennsylvania.
Project: Location: Our Role: The Airport Busway was built on a railroad right-of-way built before the Civil War. Today, the Busway uses the railroad’s Additional Interest: The two most important railroad structures on the Busway – the Cork Run Tunnel and Bell Avenue Bridge – were documented for the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) before the Busway was constructed.
Project: Location: Our Role: The unique well on the right side of the photograph was found during archaeological excavations of 14 brick townhouses built in 1837 on Robinson Street in Pittsburgh. Known as Jackson’s Row, the townhouses were home to famous Pittsburghers including William Scaife, Alexander Nimick, Henry Phipps, William W. Mackintosh, and Joseph A. Wilson. Together, these men developed the iron and steel industry that is Pittsburgh’s legacy. The young families living on Jackson’s Row prospered here during Pittsburgh’s major transformation from Indian territory to a fast-paced industrial economy. Through archaeological excavations, these experiences came to life again. Additional Interest: The last objects thrown into one of the wells were champagne and wine bottles made in the 1850s by William McCully & Co. of Pittsburgh. The bottles were deposited in the well at the same time as Allegheny City’s new water system brought piped water to Jackson’s Row and the old water wells were closed. Did we find the remains of a celebration party?
Project: Location: Awards: Our Role: CDC conducted a major excavation of the General Robinson Site buried beneath what would become PNC Park Home of the Pirates. This incredible archaeological site was found deeply buried beneath 15 feet of flood and refuse deposits. General William Robinson was the son James Robinson, the first permanent settler on Pittsburgh’s North Side. James Robinson moved here in the 1780s when Native Americans still claimed the land now occupied by the PNC Park and Carnegie Science Center…. then a place of streams, wetlands and islands. The Robinsons built a riverside plantation on an Indian Trail (now Federal Street) and operated a ferry across the Allegheny River. From this plantation home, travelers entered “a howling wilderness.” As more settlers moved across the river from Pittsburgh, the North Side became Pittsburgh’s twin city – Allegheny City – from 1840 to 1907. General Robinson was Allegheny City’s first mayor. Additional Interest: Archaeologists could nearly recreate the Robinson’s china cupboard filled with expensive blue Chinese and English plates, platters and teawares. The Flood of 1832 damaged General Robinson’s home when floodwaters covered the first floor, nearly reaching the second floor. Many of the family’s beautiful objects washed out of the house into the backyard where the archaeological team found them 175 years later. Native American artifacts including stone tools and corn were found beneath the flood deposits.
Project: Location: Awards: Our Role: CDC conducted a Phase I Cultural Resource Survey for the former Dixmont State Hospital in Kilbuck Township. One of the hospital’s buildings, Reed Hall has been listed on the National Register. The building is significant as one of the nation’s first hospitals built for the mentally ill and for its association with Dorothea Lynde Dix, a prominent social reformer. Reed Hall was designed by a famous local architect, Joseph Kerr, who used the nationally known Kirkbride Plan as a basis for his plans for Reed Hall. Additional Interest: The owner of the site found Dixmont’s time capsule, a two-gallon glass jar, filled with papers, books, a 1663 coin, and a bronze medal. CDC was given permission to document the contents and condition of the materials including a 1663 coin and a bronze medal. Dixmont has been ravaged by vandals, demolitions, and a devastating fire set in the chapel of Reed Hall. Client: Project: Location: Our Role: The Hannas Town Archaeological Site is listed on the National Register and recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s most significant cultural resources. For more than 30 years, teams of professional and amateur archaeologists, volunteers and students have performed archaeological excavations on the site. The planning process for future excavations began with a data evaluation process followed by the preparation of a series of digital site maps. From these maps CDC participated in establishing strategic project goals and recommendations for future planning purposes. The boundaries of the Hannas Town Site and the location of potential features such as roads, privies, and two of the three forts were not known. Both Magnetometer (MAG) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys were used to plan future excavations at the site. This image shows the results of these combined surveys. Additional Interest: MAG surveys measure and digitally record the intensity of the earth’s magnetic field. From these surveys foundations, fire or debris pits, well shafts, and other structural remains can be identified. GPR surveys produce cross sections of subsurface features and changes in soil chemistry, moisture and organic content. These differences are mapped and overlaid on a site base map.
Project: Location: Our Role: CDC completed a Phase I Archaeological Survey for the West Commons within the Allegheny Commons Park, a City of Pittsburgh Historic District. The park is Pittsburgh’s oldest park and an excellent example of a nineteenth century designed landscape. This image shows the park as it was originally designed. Additional Interest: No archaeological sites were found in the area of the proposed new road. The city later decided to cancel the road project and return the park to the original landscape design. |
|
Powered by WordPress, Mandigo theme by tom.
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
Client:
Client:
Client:
Client:
Client:
original Cork Run Tunnel designed over 150 years ago by noted civil engineer, W. Milnor Roberts. Over 60 other cultural resources were found along the Busway corridor.
Client:
Client:
Client:
Client:
