We archaeological reviewers here at the PA SHPO have many jobs other than just reviewing Section 106 and State History Code submissions. Among our ‘other duties as assigned’, we are also responsible for helping the GIS Section ensure that the information from archaeological reports gets into the CRGIS (Cultural Resources Geographic Information System) for use by consultants, planners, and the public. Making sure all the data we receive at our office is curated correctly and that it is available online is a big job – one that you, as report writers and submitters, can help us do more efficiently. Continue reading
Category: Archaeology (Page 16 of 16)
The cool weather this week has reminded many of us that fall is on its way and the warm days of summer will soon be behind us. With the beginning of fall comes an abundance of public programs for archaeologists across the Commonwealth and especially for those employed at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Continue reading
Many months of planning and meetings have culminated in the August 2013 re-launch of the Cultural Resources Geographic Information System (CRGIS). Continue reading
In the past five years since Marcellus shale drilling has started, the pace of archaeological survey in the northern tier and the western counties has increased sharply. Continue reading
Almost every archaeologist I know has heard this question from somebody from the general public: “How do you know where to dig?” Although it used to give me a facial tic after hearing it over and over, it’s actually not a bad question.
These two acronyms represent years of cooperation among various groups of people who are concerned about Pennsylvania’s past. Continue reading
Unearthing the Forgotten Past at Pandenarium, Site 36ME0253
Growing up in a small northwestern Pennsylvania town, I always assumed that while our local history was important to us – it didn’t always carry the same import to the world beyond. As so often happens, I was wrong and, in this case, willingly so. In graduate school, I was fortunate enough to work on a local archaeological site with national, even international implications on our understanding of a shared history.
Gabrielle Vielhauer
My name is Gabrielle Vielhauer. I am a student at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania where I am studying anthropology. From September to December 2012, I was pleased to be selected to participate in The Harrisburg Intern Semester (THIS) program sponsored by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). This program places one student representative from each university, within the state system, with an office of the legislature or in a government agency. Continue reading
Camp Security
Camp Security is a Revolutionary War period prisoner-of-war camp occupied by British, Scottish and Canadian prisoners and camp followers (often wives and other family members) between 1781 and the end of the war in 1783. The site is located about four miles east of the City of York, in a relatively small, undeveloped portion of suburban Springettsbury Township. Thirty years ago, PHMC archaeologists Barry Kent and Charles Hunter, with a small field crew, located over 100 archaeological features containing artifacts dating to the latter part of the 18th century. In all likelihood, these materials are related to the prisoner-of-war camp. Most of the features are pits which were dug into the ground and which ultimately became receptacles for a variety of domestic debris associated with the occupation of the camp. Continue reading
Preservation’s Next Generation: PennDOT/PHMC Internships in Cultural Resource Management
Hannah touring the Lackawanna Coal Mine
If you’ve been to a preservation or archaeology conference lately, you may have found yourself looking out at a sea of grey heads. The generation that began working on public projects in the 1970’s and 1980’s with the initial implementation of Federal and State Historic and Archaeological Preservation laws and regulations, is now retiring. These are the people who invented what is known as Cultural Resource Management (CRM). If important historic places are going to continue to be protected and managed for the future, a new generation of cultural resource professionals will have to carry the standard. Continue reading
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