Archaeology Field School in Action!

Watch Dr. Jonathan Burns, Director of the Cultural Resource Institute at Juniata College, and his field school as they search for evidence of a 1759 Hornwork in the Upper Fort.
After four years of extensive archaeological fieldwork on private property and the discovery of George Washington’s Friendly Fire Incident site, Dr. Burns and his students return to Fort Ligonier to search for evidence of the hornwork, a type of fortification.
Throughout the Fort’s commission (1758-1766), defenses were added and removed, Barracks were constructed, and the garrison of troops reduced. In 1759 a hornwork was added to defend the Upper Fort that faces toward the East. This helped protect the most vulnerable side of the Fort and likely helped the British successfully repel the July 6, 1759, attack by the French and their Native Allies.
Jacob Grimm found remnants of the original hornwork in the early 1960s during the Fort’s major excavation. Now, Dr. Burns and his students are returning to the area to look for additional evidence.