Champaign, Ill. – Archaeologists from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) are working on a project centered on surveying and identifying known and unknown burial sites.
In June, CERL archaeologists recently conducted a non-invasive geophysical survey to identify potential locations for ancestors' burial in the upper Wabash Region in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District. Talks for the survey began when eroding human remains were identified from a bank on USACE-owned land in the Wabash River watershed. Following the discovery, USACE determined that the geophysical survey be conducted to identify if additional human remains may be located along the eroding bank.
The team used a ground penetrating radar, magnetic gradiometer and ground conductivity meter in hopes of providing the necessary data for processing. Ground penetrating radar is often used in the construction industry to identify variations in concrete. The ground conductivity meter is designed for agricultural purposes, and the magnetic gradiometer is intended for environmental work.
“We’re analyzing the strengths and weakness of these three machines to determine which will produce the best results,” said Montana Martin, a cultural resources specialist/archaeologist at CERL. “Once we’re done testing the equipment in the field, we will bring its data to the lab for analysis.”
Because the equipment is adopted for archaeological use, knowledge of geophysics and archaeology is required to conduct such surveys.
“I am part of the second or third generation of geophysical archaeologists, so I can learn from the years of ground truthing, such as digging up an anomaly to prove it was a tree root or part of an archaeological site that previous geophysical archaeologists examined,” said Martin.
The inspiration to preserve the past to connect the present and future brought life to Martin’s project.
“People are interested in their ancestry, and this project is an opportunity to help protect the past of our partners,” said Martin. “Everyone, including archaeologists, can easily become divested from the past when we can’t see a direct connection. Providing a direct link to help protect peoples’ ancestors rejuvenates my enthusiasm for archaeology.”
Martin said that the goal of this research project is to not only locate burials but also protect them.