Finds from Fort Mifflin--Spring 2026 Dig

Last fall I learned about a dig taking place at Fort Mifflin, in the shadows of the airplanes landing at Philadelphia International Airport. Each Friday in October was nicer than the one before. I felt as if I was among my people. Max led by example, and encouraged us on our journey.

For reasons outside of my control, the dig continued in March instead of waiting for full Spring. The old saying is "March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb" is meant to give us encouragement on those early days. Truthfully we had some beautiful days in March. Days when I drove with the top down on my convertible. Warm enough for daffodils, tulips, and buds on trees. Unfortunately with the exception of one Friday, those warm days did not take place when I was digging. 

When I showed up, Mark pointed to me and invited me to his team. As someone who was almost always chosen last in gym class, it felt good to be claimed by the first trench captain. We were out in the wind. 

I learned how to dress for forecast, instead of dressing for the calendar or activity. The first week I thought my toes were going to fall off in my wellies. Martha offered glover liners to everyone, and like a fool I did not accept her offer. The few who turned out told me about the two pairs of socks they were wearing, along with fleece-lined pants. That day turned out to be the only day I did not enjoy archaeology.

As we dug, the 103rd Pennsylvania Regiment was preparing for their decommissioning ceremony, which took place in the early afternoon. The guard was founded by Benjamin Franklin. It was about to be merged with another, or so that was the impression I was given. I tried to give them their privacy as we did our work. Afterwards a couple of soldiers came over to see what we were doing. Their timing was perfect as Max had just told us to move a huge pile of dirt to a better location. The men were happy to help. As the rest of us are old enough to be their parents, we were happy to let them.

That day's sole photographed find was a button.

From the first week

I returned the following week wearing alpaca socks, flannel-lined jeans, and more layers. I accepted the offer of disposable black plastic glove liners. Despite the weather being warm enough to dig in shorts at Newlin Grist Mill on Wednesday, two days later the weather turned sharply. It was cold enough that most of the other volunteers suddenly found other things to do, but the core group are my people. We enjoyed working together. Mark took on digging the mud out of our trench. Martha, James, and I combed through the mud (I'd say sifted, but that word feels wrong even though we used screens) and found a few treasures. Meanwhile, Dan was behind the building, below the herringbone brick patio discovering what was there before the patio was laid. I ended up not taking any pictures that day because my fingers were too cold without the gloves. We ate inside huddled around the space heater that was inadequate for a space with doors that were constantly opening. Still, it was better than nothing since the historic building does not have central heat.

On the third week the weather was stunning. We had four trenches open and fully staffed. I was tasked with helping the Monmouth University group as it was their Spring Break and only two students turned out instead of their usual half a dozen or so. It was also moved from Saturday to Friday. The sun was shining. The wind was mild. I smiled as I met new people.

I found lots of pieces of metal -- including a J-hook (as in J for Jacquie), the top of a hand-blown green bottle, and my first piece of pipe stem. The next day (in a different trench) they found an almost intact pipe bowl. It was feeling like archaeology season hit its stride!

The following week, the cold weather returned. In the meantime I had stopped by another Eddie Bauer store as it was closing and scooped up waterproof fleece-lined pants and non-plastic glove liners. As I was sifting in the back on the patio, I could wear sneakers instead of wellies. The sneakers offer more support, crucial when standing for so long. I was hitting my wardrobe groove. Unfortunately, I did not find any treasures that week.

We took off for Good Friday and returned this week to wrap up. It was back to the core Trench Team. Max gave us commemorative t-shirts for us to wear as we do archaeology in other places. I found my first piece of possible pre-contact material (a flint). Some animal bones were also found.

 

I love the image of the modern airplane
captured in an old windowpane

Trying to identify where
to dig next

Unlike Newlin Grist Mill, Fort Mifflin has a hard cut off due to permits and other factors. Our trench team parted. I look forward to seeing many of them at Fort Mercer in Red Bank National Park in June when we'll be complaining about the heat.