PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA—According to a report in The Tribune-Review, at least 20 Civil War–era cannonballs were discovered at a construction site in northeast Pittsburgh, where the Allegheny Arsenal once stood. The first cannonballs were spotted in the bucket of a piece of excavation machinery. “Lo and behold, there were a lot more in the hole,” said Sonya Toler, public safety spokeswoman. She added that there are more cannonballs than can be safely removed at one time, so an officer has been placed on the site to protect it until all of the cannonballs can be removed. “These cannonballs are pretty stable,” Toler explained. “We don’t expect one will be accidentally detonated.” For more on archaeology of the Civil War, go to “Letter from Virginia: Free Before Emancipation.”
