U.S. Revolutionary War Artifacts Unearthed at Site of Infamous Colonial Heist

Revolutionary War artifacts have reportedly been unearthed at the site of an infamous colonial heist in Pennsylvania.

“This is gunflint, used in the period of the Revolutionary War. This is a Dutch coin from the state of New York in 1737,” Clint Flack told WFMZ as he displayed the items in his palm.

The artifacts were found by Bucks County Community College Archaeology students, who were on an excavation dig with the Mercer Museum. The soil they dug through was where a prison, courthouse, and treasury building stood during the American Revolution.

The dig took place in Newtown, Pennsylvania, roughly 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

A former student, who is now a dig crew chief, told the local outlet, “No one has been here since Henry Mercer [1856-1930].”

Notably, the location of the dig was the site of an infamous 1781 heist, in which British loyalists, the Doan Gang, robbed the treasury of thousands in tax money meant to fund the American Revolution.

“We do a lot of research prior to digging. We don’t just go out and dig holes,” archaeologist and professor Matthew Bielecki told WFMZ. “We do a lot of library documentation to understand the site before we even put one hole in the ground.”

Flack, meanwhile, explained that the Mercer Museum’s Doan Gang Exhibit was established after the discovery of the gang’s secret cave hideout in 2022.

“I think it’s always important to understand our history, especially about the Revolutionary War. This is all about that and that is important for America 250 this year,” Flack said.

Moving forward, the unearthed 18th-century artifacts will reportedly be put on display in the Mercer Museum.