lancaster

Tioga County

Site Name:

The Mansfield Bridge Site

Borough, Township:

Richmond Township

Author:

Robert Wall and Hope Luhman

Representing:

Louis Berger & Associates, Inc.

Date of Site:

Late Archaic, Middle to Late Woodland

Project Sponsor:

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, District

Brief Description: The Mansfield Bridge Site (36Ti116) is located near the south end of Mansfield, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Tioga River. Phase II investigations on the site have revealed two distinct prehistoric components. The Middle to Late Woodland component is represented by Clemson Island ceramics, and the Late Archaic component is comprised of a series of lithic workshop areas dating to as early as ca. 3000 BC.
Test excavations in the Clemson Island occupation area revealed pit features containing vessel fragments of a very crudely constructed and thick-walled form of Clemson Island (Carpenter Brook Cord-on-Cord) pottery that contains high percentages of crushed rock temper. The pottery is very similar to ceramics recovered from Goodwin and Associates’ Cowanesque Lake area excavations of the late 1980s.
The Late Archaic component at Site 36Ti116 is represented by stemmed and notched points of Brewerton and Lamoka affiliation. The remains of these components, as revealed during the Phase II level excavations, include small lithic workshop areas and habitation localities as indicated by high ratios of tools to waste flakes, and by very discrete stone tool manufacturing workshop loci. Phase III data recovery excavations will further explore the nature of both of these components. Considering that the Phase II recoveries were found in good contexts, it is clear that Site 36Ti116 has the potential to reveal significant data on the prehistory of the Tioga River Valley.

Tioga County
Site Name:	The Mansfield Bridge Site
Borough, Township:	Richmond Township
Author:	Robert Wall and Hope Luhman
Representing:	Louis Berger & Associates, Inc.
Date of Site:	Late Archaic, Middle to Late Woodland
Project Sponsor:	Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, District
Brief Description: The Mansfield Bridge Site (36Ti116) is located near the south end of Mansfield, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Tioga River. Phase II investigations on the site have revealed two distinct prehistoric components. The Middle to Late Woodland component is represented by Clemson Island ceramics, and the Late Archaic component is comprised of a series of lithic workshop areas dating to as early as ca. 3000 BC. Test excavations in the Clemson Island occupation area revealed pit features containing vessel fragments of a very crudely constructed and thick-walled form of Clemson Island (Carpenter Brook Cord-on-Cord) pottery that contains high percentages of crushed rock temper. The pottery is very similar to ceramics recovered from Goodwin and Associates’ Cowanesque Lake area excavations of the late 1980s. The Late Archaic component at Site 36Ti116 is represented by stemmed and notched points of Brewerton and Lamoka affiliation. The remains of these components, as revealed during the Phase II level excavations, include small lithic workshop areas and habitation localities as indicated by high ratios of tools to waste flakes, and by very discrete stone tool manufacturing workshop loci. Phase III data recovery excavations will further explore the nature of both of these components. Considering that the Phase II recoveries were found in good contexts, it is clear that Site 36Ti116 has the potential to reveal significant data on the prehistory of the Tioga River Valley.