‘Bones and BioArcheology’ to be subject of presentation

On Sunday, May 20, the Friends of Hopewell Furnace will host Rutgers Archeologist Kimberlee Sue Moran’s presentation “Bones and BioArchaeology in Philadelphia – an Arch Street Project Update.” The free program will commence at 2 p.m. in the Hopewell Furnace Conference Room.

The excavations at 218 Arch St. in Philadelphia ballooned from around 100 burials to over 500. This presentation will provide an update of what is happening in this growing, multidisciplinary project including some exciting preliminary results.

In November of 2016, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about bones found at a construction site on Arch Street. The problem was that, as a private project, no city office was “in charge” of the human remains. The Mutter Institute, as a collaborative research organization associated with the study of historic human remains, approached the property developer with an interest to learn more about the bones found at the site. What ensued was a race-against-time excavation of 218 Arch Street, part of the First Baptist Church cemetery, supposedly moved in 1860, and a continuing analysis of the people buried there between 1707 and 1859. This presentation will provide an overview of the project, what is currently known about the site, and the recovered human remains, and the future work of our multi-disciplinary team.

Kimberlee Sue Moran has been a practicing forensic archaeologist since 2002. She holds an undergraduate degree in Classical and Near Eastern archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a Master’s of Science in forensic archaeological science from the Institute of Archaeology at University College, London. Her doctoral research is in the field of ancient fingerprints. Kimberlee worked as a contract archaeologist for a CRM firm based in Trenton, NJ, prior to moving to the UK. She moved back to New Jersey in 2010 and now works at Rutgers-Camden. She is an active member of the Society for American Archaeology and is a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA).

While at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site visitors are encouraged to explore Hopewell Furnace’s own Bethesda Baptist Church and graveyard, tour the village, hike the trails and learn about iron making and why Hopewell Furnace is important to our nation’s history. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, the park is located five miles south of Birdsboro, PA, off of Route 345. For more information stop by the park’s visitor center, call 610-582-8773, visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/hofu, or contact the park by e-mail at hofu_superintendent@nps.gov.