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Trail student uncovers history

Mauri Rapp Abington Journal Correspondent

Alex Barbolish has always been interested in history, so when the Lackawanna Trail Jr.-Sr. High School student was searching for his senior project it seemed natural to find a project related to that field. “I wanted to find a project to do that was original and different,” said Barbolish. He found a suitable fit when his uncle told him about the Society for Pennsylvania Archeology. Now, Barbolish is digging for historical artifacts with the SPA’s Frances Dorrance chapter at an archeological dig near the Susquehanna River.

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Abington JOurnal/Alice Stuffle

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For his senior project, Lackawanna Trail student Alex Barbolish is working with the Society for Pennsylvania Archeology digging for historical artifacts with the Frances Dorrance chapter at an archeological dig near the Susquehanna River.

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Barbolish said he was pleasantly surprised when he showed up at the site on the first day and was handed a trowel and brush right on the spot. He was also surprised, he said, at the technique required for the job. “It’s not like digging in your garden,” he said, explaining that the process took much more care than simply scooping up dirt. Every bit of dirt goes into a five gallon bucket and is then sifted through screens to uncover any artifacts. If something is found in the dirt, a process called “provenancing” is required. This means that the artifact must be documented on a piece of graph paper by drawing a picture and plotting the coordinates where the artifact was found. The dig site, which Barbolish said is approximately the size of a standard greenhouse, is divided up into one-meter squares. Thus far, Barbolish has uncovered a fire pit and “projectiles” – sharp, spear-like objects used for hunting. “Most people refer to them as arrowheads, but bows and arrows weren’t invented yet,” said Barbolish. He has also found an axe-type tool used for splitting bone or wood.

One benefit of the project, said Barbolish, is that he is learning a lot about the people who lived around here in ancient times. The site of the archeological dig dates back approximately 8,000 years to 6,000 B.C, and Barbolish said the Native Americans who inhabited the site of the dig were much different than the Native Americans students learn about in school; rather than being part of a collective or tribe, these were nomadic family groups that followed the migratory patterns of animals. The SPA started the dig, which is located near the Coxton Bridge in Duryea, this summer after finding the site during a previous project, and Barbolish estimates the dig will continue for another year or two. “It’s a slow process,” he said. “Real archeology isn’t like Indiana Jones. It’s a lot more painstaking and concentrated.”

Although Barbolish will have graduated by the end of the dig, he said he plans to major in history or a related major in college and hopes to parlay the lessons he has learned about archeology into a career in the field. He said he is already considering getting an internship with the SPA once he begins college. But for now, almost every weekend until next June, Barbolish will be playing his part in uncovering history. “I just think it’s the coolest thing to hold something that no one else has touched for a few thousand years,” he said. “It almost makes me feel like a part of it.”