Nathan Coughlin is in his second year here at IUP, and he is currently conducting research for his Master’s thesis. The focus of his research is the Mary Rinn site, which is a village site radiocarbon dated to the Late Woodland period (850-1550 AD). This site has been the subject of archaeological investigations since the 1970s, but more recently IUP students like Amanda Talep, Robert Szczotka, and Nathan Coughlin have been implementing geophysical survey in combination with subsurface testing to look at the site from a different perspective.

Map of Gerald, Neusius, and Smith excavations with GPR blocks by Donna Smith

The Mary Rinn site is located in the Cowashannock watershed and is property of The Archaeological Conservancy (TAC). Nathan sought permission from TAC to conduct research on the site. His goal is to confirm evidence of stratification that has been recorded in previous investigations. He will use ground penetrating radar to identify potential for buried landscapes, after which he will verify his findings using a soil auger. He is using this geoarchaeological research as an opportunity to explore the use of minimally invasive techniques and demonstrate that they still yield results. Nathan plans to start collecting GPR data soon, and we are looking forward to seeing what he finds!