As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the National Historic Preservation Act, Preservation50 created a video series, the Making Archaeology Public Project. MAPP will showcase 50 projects, one in each state, which meet the requirements of the NHPA and provide a better understanding about our past.
The project chosen for West Virginia was Willow Island. In 2011 Gray & Pape conducted a deep archaeological excavation through almost 30 feet of stratified cultural deposits. While this excavation is the subject of the video, Gray & Pape also provided close coordination between the agency and project team on Section 106 issues throughout the project. Other services included agency consultation, archaeological and history/architecture resource identification and assessment, geomorphological testing, indirect affects assessment, and preparation of treatment documents and draft MOA. As part of the implementation of the treatment plan, firm histories completed HAER recordation of the historic lock and dam facility.
View the video to see the excavation as well as learn about the surprising information archaeologists discovered. Willow Island MAPP Video