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Archaeologists Digging at Ft. Boonesborough

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Twenty-five years after researchers confirmed the location of Fort Boonesborough in Madison County, an archaeologist is returning to the site to see what else she can dig up.

Geophysical survey technology has allowed archaeologist Nancy O’ Malley from the University of Kentucky to pinpoint where she plans to dig at Fort Boonesborough this week. Founded along the Kentucky River in 1775 by Daniel Boone, the settlement was active throughout the Revolutionary War.

“People continued to live in the area for a while. They tried real hard to get it to be the capital of Kentucky without any success. And by about 1810 the community was really beginning to just disappear.”

O’Malley started researching Fort Boonesborough in 1987. She says flooding from the river left a layer of silt over where the fort stood, but it also eroded some of the site away.

The current project, funded by the American Battlefields Protection Program, will culminate in an exhibit at the fort replica.

Lexington native Brenna Angel anchored local morning newscasts for WUKY through May 13. She joined the station in March 2010 after previously working for WHAS-AM in Louisville.