Cache Of Civil War-Era Cannonballs Uncovered Beneath Pittsburgh
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - An excavator operator turning soil for a new condominium development in Lawrenceville found something pretty cool -- and potentially dangerous.
The excavator operator hit something solid while working, and he immediately called the Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad because he recognized what he'd found: a cache of Civil War-era cannonballs.
"No question, Pittsburgh is steeped in history, and the city has another secret to reveal," Pittsburgh Police said on Facebook.
Turns out, that same employee helped unearth 715 cannonballs back in 2017 when he was working at the site of the former Allegheny Arsenal -- not too far away from the Lawrenceville site -- which was a supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Pittsburgh Police say the cannonballs are property of the United States Army and there's no tally on this latest discovery yet.
"The ordnances are live and therefore sensitive to certain conditions, such as shock, heat, friction, and impact," police's Facebook post read. "As such, the Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad will handle mitigation of the cannonballs in coordination with the Army."
