Urban Archaeology along I-95 in Downtown Pennsylvania
ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ is currently supporting the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s rebuild of Interstate 95 at the Girard Avenue Interchange (), conducting multi-year Phase IB through Phase III archaeological investigations guided by a Programmatic Agreement along a three-mile-long segment of I-95 in Philadelphia that includes the Northern Liberties, Kensington-Fishtown, and Port Richmond neighborhoods. This project area traverses portions of the city’s historic Delaware River waterfront and crosses some of its oldest neighborhoods. Â
To date, data recovery investigations have documented 15 individual historic sites, including portions of the former Aramingo Canal, the Dyottville Glass Works industrial complex, and multiple blocks of mixed residential/commercial development from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries yielding over 3 million artifacts. Investigations have also discovered 10 intact Native American occupations, with the earliest site yielding a radiocarbon date of 3563 BC. The artifacts constitute the largest assemblage of Pre-contact materials found in Philadelphia and is inspiring renewed interested in and appreciation of Delaware Indian cultural heritage by stakeholders. Â
To share the findings with a wider audience, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ developed an innovative, all-digital, and internet-based report format as the primary means for documenting archaeological data generated by the investigations – The Digging I-95 interactive report (). ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ has also frequently held public outreaches displaying the excavated artifacts at neighborhood centers and events as well as producing exhibits for two area museums and operating the I-95 Archaeology Center, an on-site museum and active archaeological laboratory. The project also includes its own free professional journal – River Chronicles – which is available in print and digital formats.Â

Aramingo Canal

Museum Display

Field Crew

Dyottville Foundations

Public Outreach

Moon Man