First archeological dig in three years set for Meadowcroft

This month, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, part of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums, will host a new archaeological excavation of the Rockshelter under archaeologist Dr. James Adovasio, who led the first excavation of the National Historic Landmark back in 1973.

Beginning June 8, the excavation – a rare opportunity to see archaeology in action – is open to the public during the site’s regular operating hours, Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for approximately three weeks.

Dr. Adovasio and a team of archaeologists, including his wife Dr. Judy Thomas, and Al Quinn, hope to extract material and remnants from a prehistoric fire pit at the Rockshelter used by inhabitants thousands of years ago.

During the 1970s, Dr. Adovasio and his team of University of Pittsburgh students originally discovered nearly two million artifacts and ecofacts, including ancient stone tools, pottery fragments, and evidence of ice-age fire pits during a six-year excavation of the Rockshelter.

Further testing of the artifacts concluded that the rock ledge overhang – naturally formed by the waters of Cross Creek – served as a campsite for prehistoric hunters and gatherers 19,000 years ago. 

A livestream of the excavation will also be offered via the Heinz History Center’s YouTube channel.