Paul Mickey Science Series Lecture

Brad Koldehoff, Illinois Department of Transportation Chief Archaeologist, will present "The Ancient City Under Present-Day East St. Louis: The Results of the New Mississippi River Bridge Project." Five years of archaeological excavations have occurred in East St. Louis in preparation for the realignment of Interstate 70, which will cross a new bridge into downtown St. Louis. Cutting through several city blocks and transecting the old National City Stockyards, these excavations were completed in the fall of 2012 by the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) on behalf of the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. This massive investigation revealed the remnants of an ancient city buried beneath a post-industrial landscape. Thousands of house floors and related domestic features were documented along with dozens of monumental post-pits, public buildings, and the basal remnants of a previously unknown earthen mound. Created prior to the early Mississippian founding and expansion of the nearby Cahokia Mounds, these features and their contents attest to the urban and multiethnic character of the poorly understood East St. Louis Mound Center. This program is free and open to the public. Access to the Research and Collections Center is from 10 1/2 Street.