Pipeline construction is unlike most other construction in the oil and gas industries. By extending an open ditch over several miles, it uncovers history, or at least such history as lies buried to the depth of the trench.
And we're not talking only about layers of decayed flora and fauna, as Iroquois Pipeline discovered during the 1991-92 construction of its 375-mile natural gas line.
The pipeline's right of way crosses some of North America's most beautiful and historic real estate. As a result, Iroquois hired an army of archaeologists to survey the route from the St. Lawrence River in northern New York, down the state and into Connecticut, and finally across Long Island Sound and back into New York.
Uncovering one past . . .
The survey identified 540 archaeological sites in the two states: 394 prehistoric, or dating from before Native North Americans made contact with Europeans, and 146 historic.
Iroquois was able to route the pipeline around almost half of the sites. But for the rest, the company excavated for possible new information about the region's history.
Results of the archaeological activity along the right of way have been compiled in a booklet, Pipeline Through the Past, commissioned by the company and distributed upon request.
Although the excavations revealed no major discoveries, says Iroquois, they did examine previously unknown sites and provided details about prehistoric people.
The earliest artifact was a broken "fluted," or finely chipped, leaf-shaped projectile found near the Hudson River in Athens, NY, that dates from more than 9,000 years ago.
The booklet professes to be "designed for the 7-9 grade levels, with enough detail to engage readers of all ages." The level of technical detail and vocabulary, the organization and page layout, and the numerous and simple graphics certainly indicate this aim.
Along with a running narrative of how the archaeological work was conducted and what it found, almost every two-page spread displays several complementary boxes, illustrations, sidebars, and photographs.
On the left side of a typical spread (pp. 26-27) is a box, "Broken points and bifaces," that explains the manufacture of tools in the precontact era. Adjacent is a brief sidebar, "What prehistoric materials preserve underground?" that explains which materials last longer when buried and why.
The opposing page continues a narrative of "Life during Archaic times," complemented by a box showing the oldest artifact and a photograph of typical northern New York countryside through which the pipeline was laid and the archaeological work conducted.
...to obscure another
No puffy PR piece, this booklet was researched and written by professional archaeologists. In addition to straightforward historical and archaeological information, a reader can infer a great deal more about the geographical and climatic forces that mold societies and peoples.
But it definitely carries a public relations intent that will surprise no one familiar with Iroquois Pipeline's history: Construction of the project was plagued and delayed by accusations of environmental abuse.
At one point, US Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided Iroquois' headquarters and construction offices to seize documents related to the construction.
Events culminated in May 1996 when Iroquois Pipeline Operating Co. and four of its top officers pled guilty to violations of the US Clean Water Act during the line's construction.
And all this was played up in local and national media.
It's a history the company would as soon bury. This booklet is only one of the company's efforts at that and at burnishing its reputation and improving relations with the communities along its route.
But it's also good.
Readable, informative, accessible without being too propagandistic, the booklet conveys a great deal about human activity and history and, by implication, about what such massive projects as the Iroquois Pipeline must contend with to become reality.
