In accordance with the Level 1 Archaeological Monitoring protocol outlined in the Cultural Resource Monitoring Plan for the Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup, materials dredged from the canal are examined for possible archaeological and cultural significance. These include not only larger objects, but also dredged soft sediments that are placed directly into scows, floated by barge to the Clean Earth Claremont Facility in Jersey City, and screened over four-inch bars on a vibrating platform.
Items removed during the screening process are sorted by the Clean Earth operator, and anything of potential interest (possible artifacts or objects of local interest) is separated and photographed daily for specialists employed by Archaeology & Historic Resource Services (AHRS) to review. These items are then placed in a holding area for AHRS to inspect weekly.
The AHRS archaeologists provide reports of the items they analyze on an ongoing basis to the Gowanus Canal Environmental Remediation Trust (the group of parties responsible for the Superfund cleanup) and the EPA.
While most of what is dredged from the Gowanus Canal falls firmly in the junk category – think old tires, wooden pilings and chunks of concrete – some of the items are interesting. Please click on the links below to see the detailed reports, which contain photographs of noteworthy items, and which we update as new reports are received.
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #1
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #2
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #3
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #4 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #5
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #6
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #7
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #8 Part 1 | Part 2
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #9
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #10
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #11
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #12
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #13
Gowanus Cultural Review Memo #15