Clinton King, myself, and Sir Scans-a-Lot journeyed up scenic U.S. 15 from Fredericksburg, VA, to Harrisburg, PA, on Friday, November 4, to scan artifacts located at The State Museum of Pennsylvania.  Archaeological curator Janet Johnson, as always, graciously made space available to us and pulled artifacts for us to scan.  These included a ceramic vessel and a snake skeleton still imbedded in its original soil matrix (we call him “Leo”) recovered from the Martin site, which was excavated in 1941 before it was flooded by the rising waters of the Youghiogheny Reservoir. Mark McConaughy of Bushy Run Battlefield was there as well, and he helped us identify an artifact from Jamestown as having the image of a cormorant on it.  Mark also showed us a sherd from the Sugar Run village site, located in Warren County, PA, that was excavated in the 1940s by a crew of Seneca Indians working through the Civilian Conservation Corps.  Kurt Carr, Senior Curator at The State Museum of PA, pulled some Paleoindian points for us to look at, one of which we scanned.

Saturday, November 5, was the day of the reinstated Workshops in Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania.  I was slated to present on the Monongahela as part of the workshop, and we continued scanning during the day, this time set up in a public space so that attendees and members of the public could watch the scanning in process.  We also set up interactive stations for individuals to manipulate 3D models of artifacts, including some we scanned the day before.  Bob Oshnock, lead excavator at the Consol site, in Westmoreland County, PA, came to the Workshop with one of the ceramic vessels from that site and graciously allowed us to scan it.  We also scanned a bone bead blank from the Phillips site, a village once located in Fayette County, PA, and since destroyed by strip mining.

Curatorial Assistants Elizabeth Wagner and David Burke, as well as Janet Johnson, were key to making this a success.  We had approximately 40 people talk with us and manipulate the 3D models. After we packed up for the day, and attended the lovely reception they had for the Workshop participants, Janet took us up for an afterhours visit to see their new mammoth skeleton.  Truly an awesome experience.

We plan to return at some time soon to scan additional artifacts, including some petroglyph panels on exhibit in the archaeology section of The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Means, Project Director