Archeological Dig Unearths Really Old Findings In Old City
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There is a lot to be learned about Philadelphia through 150-year-old trash.
Temple University PhD student Deirdre Kelleher is working in conjunction with the Elfreth's Alley Museum on an archeological dig of the nation's oldest continuously occupied residential street.
"We have gutter spikes and flagging tape up for our excavation grid," she explains.
Her work this summer is a continuation of a dig here from the summer of 2012.
"We found over 6,000 artifacts between the two excavation periods. Things like ceramics, which tell us about what they used for eating and food preparation, and then smaller pieces like marbles and buttons which are more personal items," Kelleher explained.
She says what she loves most about this dig is, "archeology can tell you things about the people who aren't always completely captured in the written record, like the immigrants and lower classes, so it gives you a window into those people's lives."
Listen to the full interview:
