May 20, 2002 By Bryan O'Keefe For The 3 min read

While wagon trains, food vendors, Civil War re-enactors, and tours of historic landmarks have always been a part of the National Road Festival, the newly opened Brownsville Wharf Riverside Park hosted a special activity Sunday afternoon that combined crime scene investigation techniques with local archaeological history. David Yelle, Tye Grabowski, and Bill Sigler, all divers with various Allegheny County public safety teams, were on hand to present a demonstration on local historic artifacts they have found in the Monongahela River.

All of the artifacts were discovered using the same techniques the trio employs when assisting law enforcement agencies in crime scene investigations and search and rescue missions.

“This really combines the two sciences on the same page,” said Tye Grabowski, one of the divers who participated in the demonstration held throughout the afternoon.

“Looking for artifacts is the same thing as looking for someone who has drown or looking for a gun that was used in a homicide. It’s the same type of skills,” said fellow diver David Yelle.

The divers have done extensive diving expeditions in the area, uncovering hundreds of valuable artifacts that are a gateway to local history.

On display Sunday afternoon, Grabowski had a wide variety of artifacts including plant fossils, swords, coins, and musket balls, all found near the Brownsville area.

Grabowski has even discovered one particular artifact that has been estimated to be 53 million years old. While it is easy to believe that such an artifact would have tremendous monetary value, Grabowski and his fellow divers donate all of their findings to local museums or non-profit institutions.

“I always try to donate things to museums or colleges, depending on what kind of artifact it is,” Grabowski said.

For the Brownsville area, that means the Flatiron Building has been the recipient of many of the diver’s artifacts.

“They are just a spark to the museum,” said Brownsville Mayor Norma Ryan.

Ryan, who is also heavily involved in the Flatiron Building, praised the divers for their hard work.

“Just looking at these artifacts they have uncovered is so interesting. They have a real passion for this and they are very knowledgeable,” Ryan added.

With such a heavy emphasis on local history during the National Road Festival, the demonstration was a perfect fit, according to the divers.

“There are a lot of treasures in that river. It’s really a part of local history,” said diver Bill Sigler as he emerged from the river in his diving suit.

Even the cool temperatures and scattered rain were not enough to deter the divers from demonstrating their skills for local residents.

“The water temperature is only 59 degrees but that’s OK. Once we start moving around in the water, you actually start to sweat,” Sigler added. In fact, the weather didn’t disappoint Yelle as much as the lack of visibility in the water Sunday afternoon.

“It’s really murky today in there. I couldn’t even see my hand sometimes, which makes it harder to find stuff,” Yelle said.

While the divers have made a tremendous contribution to the Flatiron Buolding with their work thus far, Grabowski is already looking forward to future expeditions in the Brownsville area.

“We think we have found some undisturbed Native American artifacts and fossilized buffalo bones in the river,” Grabowski said.

The latest finding is so sensitive that Grabowski is waiting for local archaeologists and paleontologists to join him in coordinating the dive. “We are getting other people involved but we feel pretty confident that we are going to have some great artifacts for the museum when we are done,” Grabowski added.