Twelve IUP archeologists participated in service events at Historic Hanna’s Town in Westmoreland County and at the historic Lebanon Cemetery in York, PA, on Saturday, October 26.
Five Applied Archaeology MA students staffed a community archaeology day at Historic Hanna’s Town in Westmoreland County, helping children screen dirt from a recent foundation excavation and identify artifacts.
Historic Hanna’s Town is adding a new log building to the site. While the location was previously archaeologically tested and metal detected by IUP volunteers, screening all of the excavated soils allowed for all artifacts to be recovered. This was also a good opportunity for young archaeologists to get their hands dirty by looking for real artifacts.
The IUP students had all completed an archaeology field school and were well prepared to help the children search for and identify artifacts.
IUP Applied Archaeology student and alumni working with community members at Lebanon Cemetery
A mix of IUP Anthropology undergraduate and graduate students and faculty joined other professional archaeologists and community volunteers in York, PA, to record the historic Lebanon Cemetery. The volunteers used GPS and photographs to record the historic portion of the site. This information will be used by the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery to better manage this important African American cemetery.
This event was organized by the Pennsylvania Archaeology Council and led by IUP faculty member Ben Ford. Working in teams that combined IUP students, professional archaeologists, and community members, the day involved significant sharing of knowledge about the history of the cemetery, the people buried there, and how archaeologists collect data.
IUP Applied Archaeology student and alumni recording grave markers with Friends of Lebanon Cemetery
Thanks to Victoria Albert, Emily Briggs (and family), Nate Coughlin, Dakota Dickerson, James Duke, Ben Ford, Abdul Jones, Jessa Jurofcik, Jiahan Liu, Brenden Patterson, Jennifer Ross, and Connor Winslow for volunteering.