Military veterans benefit from 'therapeutic' archaeological fieldwork at Fort Ligonier

Dr. Jonathan Burns has been attempting for around six years to uncover archaeological evidence of an artillery battery and line of communication supposedly buried near the back door of Fort Ligonier — all while impacting veterans’ post-war lives.

Located along Route 30, the British fortification is a recreated 18th century military landmark from the French and Indian War. Through Burns’ weeklong archaeology field school, local college students have enjoyed excavating and sweeping the site with metal detectors.

Burns, a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Juniata College, began planning this summer’s field school amid the coronavirus pandemic, but he ended up having to scale back for safety reasons.

“It might change a couple people’s lives and give them a career path … and the other people will just say they did it and had the experience,” Burns said of the veterans who attended the program.

According to Burns, five students — two from Juniata, two from Dickinson College and one from Penn State University — arrived Aug. 1 to begin archaeological prep work in anticipation of around nine military veterans who were to arrive Friday.

The veterans then participated in a three-day program where they listened to lectures detailing how to use metal detectors and had the chance to put their newfound skills toward real-world archaeological discovery.

“There’s a therapeutic aspect to what we’re doing,” Burns said, which is “beneficial” to veterans trying to readapt to regular civilian life.

Burns said the methodical fieldwork effectively distracts veterans who may suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD or other stressors in their post-war lives.

“As soon as you come out of the military — that’s a very structured life — you come back to loosey-goosey America and try to fit back in,” Burns said. “There’s no power structure, there’s no camaraderie that you just left, and these kinds of programs are meant to rekindle that and connect people.”

Tammie Gillums, who was in the Army for 12 years, traveled all the way from Arlington, Virginia to attend the program as a “history buff” interested in archaeology and metal detecting.

“As a veteran, it’s important to me to learn more about military history … to learn more about what these battles were like, what the soldiers were thinking, how they were living,” Gillums, 42, said of her first time in Pennsylvania, “and to see what connection I can make with them.”

After leaving the Army in 2012, she became part of the Veterans Curation Program, which gives veterans a secure job for five months doing archaeology cataloguing right out of the military, according to Burns.

“I had a service dog prior to doing archaeology that I traveled with everywhere, but once I started with the (VCP) and started doing lab work and going out on digs,” Gillums said, “I felt like I was comfortable and I didn’t have to have my dog everywhere with me.”

Gillums said she gained a sense of independence from “finally” finding something enjoyable to look forward to.

Burns explained by utilizing wellness surveys before and after, the program will be able to gauge what veterans gain from the program.

“If I can help transition them back from combat conditions into civilian life and make that transition a little more smooth for them and involve them in archaeology, it’s gratifying,” Burns said.

As for the excavation process throughout the week, Burns said the only period item his team of students found so far was a copper cuff link.

“But we did a lot of digging to find that one little tiny item and that might be all we get this time as far as a period artifact,” Burns said. In the past, horse shoes, unused ammunition, wagon parts, iron items and stake nails have been found, with the most notable find a horse bell, which is now on display in Fort Ligonier’s museum, Burns said.

Roland Hunter, the teaching assistant of the field school, said he has been working with Burns for a couple of years and doing archaeology work for four or five.

Hunter, a student of Juniata — the field school’s sponsor, explained the artillery battery and line of communication they’ve been searching for is essentially a minor wall about 120 to 150 feet away from the fort’s outside wall used to hide behind in the event of a rear attack.

“Due to the way that the town grew up and where the houses were built, we believe that it may not be there,” Hunter, 20, said. “We think it’s possible that due to all the construction it got obliterated.”

Burns said the artillery battery covered the Forbes Road approach to Fort Ligonier. “If the enemy got behind you, you’d be staring down the barrel of some cannons,” he said.

The remnants of the structure “should be in the vicinity,” Burns said, according to historic maps and aerial photographs.

Madelyn Bugdonovitch, an archaeology and anthropology student at Dickinson, said the student team has been digging some “test units” — cube-shaped holes in the ground — to try and unearth any types of colonial artifacts. Metal detectors are used to find hotspots or any metal artifacts, she said.

However, she said one hole keeps “getting hits” but the team hasn’t found anything yet.

“We’re wondering if a lot of the evidence of (the line of communication) has been destroyed by different construction,” Bugdonovitch, 20, said, mentioning an amphitheatre that had previously been built on the land.

Though they haven’t found any colonial artifacts or evidence of the artillery battery or line of communication, Burns said he was “psyched” about taking the veterans to uncharted territory near the fort.

“That’ll be a major contribution to the archaeology of the fort because no one’s ever looked over there,” Burns said of the area, which is a spot where the French and Native Americans attacked the British and colonial forces.

Bugdonovitch said she believes the experience could bring the veterans a sense of “comfort and familiarity” they had while in the military. For her, the field school has been “extra practice.”

“For the students, it’s good application of the skills that we learn about in textbooks,” Bugdonovitch said. “Maybe one day … we could have a reconstruction of the other aspects of the fort.”

Hunter said the process has been rewarding for him, as it has allowed him to help the local town and his fellow students learn.

“It’s great being able to be a part of a historical project that provides a lot for the community,” Hunter said. “A lot of people in the town are really interested.”

The project was funded by a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant administered by Fort Ligonier, which paired Burns and the students with the military veterans and provided money for participants’ hotel rooms.

Burns explained he wants to continue this type of program for veterans but would have to get another grant to host it again.

Above all, Burns said one of the largest benefits for them is realizing “there’s more going on than what’s going on in your head.”