Vandals ransack site of archaeological dig In Duryea, 10,000
years of history was dealt a setback in one evening of
intentional destruction. What is believed to be a group of
vandals ransacked an archaeological dig overlooking the
confluence of the Lackawanna and Susquehanna rivers, upending
three decades of work by a combination of professional and
amateur archeologists. Al Pesotine, of the Frances Dorrance
Chapter of the Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology, is saddened
by the destruction and perplexed as to the motive. "Whoever did
this, did it with a vengeance - a meanness," he said of the
damage to the site known as the Conrail Research Site. "This was
not simply knocking things over. If there was a piece of wood,
they snapped it in half. We made benches for people to sit on
and they tore them apart. They tore down the tarp and cut holes
through it again and again." The damage is believed to have
happened Sunday or Monday. The materials lost may have cost a
few hundred dollars, but the work invoked hundre