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QUESTIONS
What is the Muncy Canal Archaeology Project?
Why is Muncy building a park and nature trail?
Who is working and volunteering for this project?
What kind of archaeology are you doing first?
How did you know about this site?
What steps do you take to develop an excavation plan?
What is the social history of the canal in Pennsylvania?
How was water was brought to the Muncy Canal?
What are the dimensions of the colonial well?
What kind of artifacts are you finding at the well?
Does rainfall hinder your progress?
Does your excavating end when the ground freezes?
How hard is the work every day?
How old do you have to be to volunteer?
What kinds of jobs do you have for volunteers?
ANSWERS
What is the Muncy Canal Archaeology Project?
The Muncy Canal project is preliminary research at a historically
important archaeological site that the Muncy Historical Society
has initiated as they prepare to develop a Heritage Park and Nature
Trail. One of the faults of history is that not all of the things
you read are true or accurate. Since history is subjective -- written
with a very narrow point of view -- archaeology can help historians
sort through the data. The question at the Muncy Canal project is
simple: "Do we really know what happened here and who lived
here?" and "Is what we read in the history books accurate?"
Why is Muncy building a park and nature trail?
Muncy has a rich history and the canal that was built in 1834 boosted
its income and its population. A small river town, Muncy profited
from the canal and the lumber boom and many people lived there.
Beautiful houses were built and significant businesses were started.
The Historical Society would like to develop the park and nature
trail as a way to celebrate this heritage and introduce children
and adults to the beautiful wildlife and plants that live along
the old canal, and to tell visitors how the canal operated and why
it was so important in the making of the Muncy community.
Who is working and volunteering for this project?
The Muncy Historical Society membership is the primary people working
and volunteering at the site. Muncy also invited Lycoming College's
American Archaeology field school to use the site for educational
purposes. After the college finished its work, the dig was opened
to the public as a public relations and educational project. The
archaeologist leading the field school and overseeing the project
is Robin Van Auken.
What kind of archaeology are you doing first?
The archaeological investigation at the site began with a surface
survey, with volunteers and Lycoming College students walking the
area to see if there were any important artifacts on the ground.
Then, after the well was identified, the crew removed the concrete
cap (dated "October 22, 1928) and began to remove soil and
screen it for artifacts. Instead of going straight down the well,
the crew removed a slope to the southeast of the well so people
could walk up to the well and look in. The southeast wall of the
well was removed and some of the well has been excavated. The plan
is to leave most of the well intact so visitors can see what a working
well looked like from the side, not the top.
How did you know about this site?
When the Muncy Canal was dug and a lock installed, the canal company
hired a lockkeeper to work the lock. This person had to be available
24-hours a day, so the company built a house by the lock, a fresh-water
well, and a shed for tired mules. The lockkeeper and his family
lived in this house. This information is in the canal company's
records and on old maps.
What steps do you take to develop an excavation plan?
The first step in any archaeology project is to develop a Research
Design. This is "reason" why we are digging up an archaeology
site and it has to be important. The Research Design includes a
question that the archaeologist wants to answer and only by removing
the soil by layers and screening it for artifacts, by taking measurements
and researching the historic records, can the archaeologist find
an answer. With each artifact recovered, the question is closer
to being answered. The second step is to gather a crew to help work.
This crew not only learns to work in the field, but also in the
laboratory. After artifacts are recovered, they have to be washed,
identified, cataloged and curated. As the crew, either students,
historical society volunteers or the public, works on the site,
they learn the proper techniques and become familiar with artifacts,
often able to identify them in the field.
What is the social history of the canal in Pennsylvania?
The canal was extremely important not because it made money (in
fact, it didn't), but because it helped people spread through the
frontier and bring their household goods with them. Many homesteads
were settled and businesses sprang up beside the canal. People couldn't
travel easily 200 years ago, especially in the mountains. And the
West Branch of the Susquehanna River is very shallow and has many
rapids, so river travel wasn't very popular. Building a canal enabled
people to send and receive many things, sell their produce and lumber,
and even travel to remote places easily. The canal boats were pulled
by mules at a rate of four miles per hour.
How was water was brought to the Muncy Canal?
Canals were fed by a variety of water sources. The river flowed
into the canal in several places, but also holding ponds and natural
springs were used to fill the canals. Some branches of creeks were
diverted to supply the canal with water. In the winter, the canals
froze and children ice skated on it.
What are the dimensions of the colonial well?
The lockkeeper's well is approximately four feet in diameter. At
present, the depth of the well is about six or seven feet. We are
not sure how far down we will excavate because a well is a dangerous
place to stand and work in. Rocks could fall on our heads! This
particular well could hit water at 20 feet or 100 feet. We won't
know until we get there.
What kind of artifacts are you finding at the well?
The artifacts we've recovered at the well are very interesting and
also typical of a 19th century home. We are finding ceramic (dishes
and cups) sherds, pane glass, rusty nails, buttons, pipe stems,
brick and wood, and a lot of stone.
Does rainfall hinder your progress?
Yes; we cannot work at the archaeology site in the rain, or immediately
after it. Not only is the soil hard (almost impossible) to screen
through our sifters (1/4-inch hardware cloth), but if we worked
in the rain we would ruin the floor and walls of the site. When
it rains, we try to work in the laboratory and wash artifacts.
Does your excavating end when the ground freezes?
Unfortunately yes, but we have so much work to do in the laboratory
and at the museum. We have artifacts to identify and record, we
have photos and video to create, we will write reports and use some
of the information and artifacts to create exhibits.
How hard is the work every day?
It can be grueling and painful. The buckets of soil that we fill
have to be picked up and sifted through the screen. These are heavy
and make our backs ache. We have to sift the screens and this is
a repetitive movement that makes your arms tired and sore. Your
hands also will get sore as you break up clumps of clay. Bending
over and troweling in the hot sun will make you sweat and hurt.
Also, there's lots of bugs and poison ivy and poison oak. There
are hundreds of spiders (mostly long-legged ones) skittering around
the well, and they do bite. But, none of that really matters when
you find a really cool artifact.
How old do you have to be to volunteer?
We have had people as young as five years old and and as old as
85 working on this site. The Lycoming College field school consisted
of students in their early 20s, but once the dig opened to the public,
we have had people of all ages and even entire families coming to
the site.
What kinds of jobs do you have for volunteers?
In October 2007, the excavation at the site will close to the public
but we still need volunteers to work in the laboratory. We also
will need help to close it up for the winter. We want these people
to be members of the Muncy Historical Society and have some training
with us because this part of the job is a bit more demanding and
important. We also need volunteers who are interested in helping
sort the data and help make exhibits. We have been digging at several
places -- the well, a refuse pit, the house foundation -- and the
more people we have who are experienced, the better job we will
do. However, this history belongs to us all so we want to give everyone
a chance to appreciate it and preserve it.
Dig Personnel
Meet the archaeologists, students and volunteers working at the
Muncy Canal site
Dig Diaries
Participate in the exciting discoveries by reading the latest from
the field
Ask an Archaeologist
Visit our FAQs page to get answers to all your questions about the
dig
The Archaeologist's Toolbox
Learn about the tools we use before, during, and after excavations
Archaeology for Kids
Here are a few games and puzzles to help young children and students
learn about archaeology
Upcoming Events
Learn more about us, and get information on visiting the site or
taking part in one of our programs
Media Coverage
Read all about it! Public Radio, local newspapers, Web 'zines and
television newscasts investigate The Muncy Heritage Park and Nature
Trail
Join the Society
Want to help with the Archaeology Dig? Become a member of the Muncy
Historical Society
Muncy Historical Society
Visit the Muncy Historical Society's Web site
Robin
Van Auken, archaeologist for the project
Meet Robin Van Auken and find out more about the field school she
teaches for Lycoming College
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