Fox Gap excavations may hold key to large inventory of artifacts

Six representatives from IUP and the on-campus Archaeological Services group held history in their hands this summer when they assisted in the excavation of the Civil War battle site, Fox Gap.

Joe Baker, an archaeologist for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and principle investigator for the excavation, explained the significance of the Maryland location.

"Daniel Wise established his farm on this property in the late 1850s, which included a log cabin and a well," Baker said.

"At 8 a.m. on Sept. 14, 1862 (the second year of the Civil War), Wise heard a knock at the door of his log cabin. He was met by a North Carolina infantry sergeant who told Wise to vacate the area, as a battle was soon approaching."

As they left, Wise and his family saw the army lining up outside their home. According to Baker, the Wise family returned three days later to find their abode in shambles.

"A battle had clearly occurred," Baker noted. "Their pigs and chickens were slaughtered. Hundreds of soldiers' bodies were buried in shallow graves. Fifty-eight bodies were found in the well."

The Wise family rebuilt and lived there until 1879. In 1919, the cabin was torn down and the exact location was seemingly lost forever.

Baker explained the two reasons for rediscovering the cabin and well's locality once again. It would not only be a further step in the on-going process of land management, which includes parking lot construction to accommodate the many visitors to the Appalachian Trail surrounding the site, but it would also hold historical relevance. The knowledge of the cabin and well's whereabouts would be the key to a large inventory of artifacts.

Amanda Shafer, a junior anthropology major with a concentration in archaeology, was one of the IUP students who aided in the excavation. She and Jackson Knoll, an IUP graduate, visited Maryland, expecting only to pick up equipment.

"But once we got there," Shafer explained, "they said, 'We can put you to work, too.'"

Shafer assisted in her first historical dig by filling buckets with dirt taken from the many layers of land.

The IUP staff, in conjunction with Appalachian Trail volunteers, worked for four weekends this summer, excavating the area at Fox Gap in hopes of finding the old Wise residence and well.

On the last weekend, a stone-lined well and remains of a log cabin were uncovered. More work needs to be done in determining if these structures are in fact those belonging to the Wise family, but Baker seems confident in the findings.

"I think we most likely found it," he said, not without a sense of both pride and accomplishment.

Beverly Chiarulli, director of Archaeological Services, explained why an experience, like that of Fox Gap, is so fruitful for archaeology students.

"It allows students the opportunity to catalog artifacts and gather hands-on training," Chiarulli said.

The professor also shared how Fox Gap incorporated another student from a different discipline.

"Paul McCarthy, a sophomore geosciences major, helped in the mapping of the area," Chiarulli said.

McCarthy has been asked to share his findings by presenting a paper addressing his work this spring at the Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Environmental and Engineering Problems in San Antonio, Texas.

The Fox Gap excavation was proof that not all useful skills are perfected inside the classroom, but are sometimes better developed as Shafer described, "outside of the textbook."