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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message Icon:                             Message: Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Grenouille[/i] [br]This article was in the Erie,PA Sunday newspaper. Maybe they'll find Braddock's gold, or Jimmy Hoffa buried there....lol...just kidding, but it will be interesting to see what they do find. There was a nice picture with the article, but it wasn't included in the web edition of the story. Here's the article: [b]Blockhouse survives as time capsule[/b] ASSOCIATED PRESS PITTSBURGH — A shelter for 18th century soldiers being sniped or overrun by warring tribes, Bouquet's Blockhouse survived Pontiac's War and two revolutions — American and Industrial. It stands today much as it did 240 years ago, only now with a backdrop of skyscrapers and sports stadiums. Archaeologists will soon begin to sift through soil under the floor of the brick and stone redoubt with hopes of filling in some unwritten chapters of history. The Daughters of the American Revolution, which has owned and administered the small structure since 1894, planned to tear up and replace a deteriorating floor. Before any work was done, however, the group allowed archaeologists from California University of Pennsylvania to do a limited excavation last month. "We were quite surprised by the amount of artifacts that were found," said Carol Downey Fuller, project manager for the DAR. Within two shallow, one-square-meter digs, archaeologists found conical beads used as jewelry by Native Americans and tinkling cones that were sewn in to their clothes; a child's necklace; tools; weights used to sink fishing nets; shards of Iroquois pottery; musket and pistol balls; and colonial-era flints from English firearms. Next month, archaeologists plan to dig further and excavate the entire 100-square-foot floor. No one is sure what will be found or if anything of historical significance remains. What is known is that a fierce struggle to control the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers was waged between superpowers France and England in the mid-1700s in the French and Indian War — considered by many to be the first world war. Much of the 36 acres of land where the victorious British built massive Fort Pitt was later developed as an area of heavy industry. Yet the soil under Bouquet's Blockhouse was untouched, piquing the interest of university researchers and at Michael Baker Jr. Inc., a firm that does archaeological digs for the government before major projects begin. The company is undertaking the excavation at cost, with archaeologists and engineers volunteering their time, said David Anderson, manager of the Cultural Resources Section. "The Blockhouse is a time capsule that dates back to at least the 1760s," Anderson said. "The world kind of turned on that spot for years. Whether you can definitely say there are intact materials below that area, no one is sure." The redoubt was built on the orders of Col. Henry Bouquet, who led the British troops to victory over American Indian forces in the Battle of Bushy Run. His victory ended the siege of Fort Pitt, but he built five redoubts outside the fort as scouting points and as defensive fall-back positions for added security. Some of the masonry walls and ramparts of Fort Pitt have been excavated, but Bouquet's Blockhouse is the only remaining structure. Archaeologists will be looking at items that point to a history that has never been recorded. "You get a lot of material from historic records but it's surprising what was never written," Anderson said. "You tend to get a one-sided view ... a lot of things someone wanted someone else to think was happening." Excavations will be taking place on May 10-11 and May 17-18, weekend days that will allow the public to watch archaeologists work, Anderson said. ONTHENET: Fort Pitt Museum: www.fortpittmuseum.com.Michael Baker Jr. Inc.: www.mbakercorp.com/cultural. [/quote]    Upload an Image File From Your PC For Insertion in Your Post    -  HTML is OFF | Forum Code is ON   Check here to include your profile signature.