Pittsburgh Construction Worker Finds Civil War-Era Cannonballs For 2nd Time In 3 Years
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local construction company recently uncovered a piece of Pittsburgh's history.
While working at a site in Lawrenceville, crews discovered cannonballs believed to be from the Civil War era. Pittsburgh police say an employee from Franjo Construction was turning soil on July 2 when something didn't feel right.
"As soon as he hit them, he knew exactly what they were," said Franjo Construction project manager Kayla Timulak. "There was no question."
Because the cannonballs are active and sensitive to certain conditions like heat and impact, crews called the Pittsburgh Bomb Squad immediately.
"They verified that they were in fact UXOs, unexploded ordnances," said Timulak.
The Arsenal II construction site was formerly part of Allegheny Arsenal, which manufactured and provided supplies to the Union Army during the Civil War. This wasn't the first discovery made in recent years near that site.
The same employee who found the cannonballs in July found 715 cannonballs during the construction of nearby Arsenal I in 2017, which is why he knew what he uncovered during this most recent find.
Timulak says because her crew had come across cannonballs in the area before, they had a plan in place.
"You hit them the first time and you think maybe the novelty has worn off. But it really hasn't because it's almost like a treasure hunt on your own job site," she said.
Pittsburgh police say the bomb squad and U.S. Army are now handling those cannonballs and will officially determine how many were found at the site.
For more information on Franjo Construction's discoveries, click here.