Beginning in 1997, GRA was contracted by Gray and Pape, Inc. to conduct geoarcheological investigations as part of the Millennium Pipeline Project.
The project consisted of a corridor approximately 422 miles long, beginning in Canada, crossing Lake Erie, and continuing through the Southern Tier counties of New York. For over ten years GRA was involved in all phases of investigations; from developing a probability model based on geomorphic principles that drove archeological survey methodologies to detailed analysis of sediments from archeological contexts during Phase III data recovery investigations.
Incorporating geomorphological data into this project was an integral part of the research strategy because the pipeline crosses diverse geomorphic regions, such as the broad floodplain of the Susquehanna River in Broome County, NY and peat bogs in Orange County, NY. This required a multiplicity of survey and excavation strategies guided in part by geoarcheological probability modeling. In 2007, GRA completed field investigations at seven prehistoric data recoveries as part of the Millennium Pipeline Project. In order to complete investigations at so many sites in a timely and thorough fashion GRA marshaled a team of researchers comprised of GRA staff and geoarcheologists from the University of Tennessee Archaeological Research Laboratory. Putting together a team of specialists allowed GRA to conduct investigations at multiple sites throughout the summer. Because of this GRA was able to make timely in-field contributions to the research design and excavation strategies of the archeological investigations.