Finally tonight, a mission to unearth centuries old artifacts.

Researchers are combing Princeton Battlefield State Park looking for any bits of history that can tell the tale of the Battle of Princeton, or what life was like during revolutionary times.

It's part of an effort called Washington's Legacy, which aims to improve the state park and battlefield grounds.

Ahead of our country's 250th anniversary, Ted Goldberg gives us an up close look at some of the unique treasures already uncovered.

It's sort of a Jackson Pollock look of of flags.

It's Flag Day at the Princeton battlefield, where archeologists are finding lots of American history.

We're already beginning to pick up artifacts and in areas that nobody had really looked before.

And we're identifying battle related material in some of those places.

The Battle of Princeton was a pivotal win for the Americans during the Revolutionary War.

And archeologist Wade Katz says the last few weeks have unearthed some cool stuff from almost 250 years ago.

We are identifying, lines of shot or canister iron balls about, an ounce or so in size that are being fired into Washington's infantry line.

The fact that we're picking them up here tells you that there are infantry formations standing in this field.

The American Battlefield Trust is looking to build a visitor center here.

So before that happens, people are using metal detectors to dig up anything interesting that would otherwise be covered.

They found almost 500 artifacts over the last few weeks.

So that is, impacted musket ball.

It hit a target.

You can see how deformed that is.

If you look at this other musket ball, it's very flattened.

So it it impacted with greater force, possibly fired from a closer distance.

And then you'll find a broad range of of smaller caliber weapons.

That's the American army in 1776.

Dana Link is in charge of metal detecting here.

People who get to know their machine and have a quality machine can greatly increase the success of the search.

So you know your machine.

I am getting to know it.

It's smarter than I am.

And he's found all sorts of unique artifacts from the Revolutionary War period and after.

Like a bicycle bell, part of a Boy Scout uniform and some cookware.

This would be a, kettle leg or frying pan leg from a cast iron vessel.

That may be from the Revolutionary War period.

Why?

The character of the oxide and the thickness and so forth that it is.

It's been here a long time.

Some of these objects were found nearly a foot underneath the ground.

And each of them is a miniature history lesson.

I'm fascinated with what is the unexpected.

I'm fascinated with adding to, or contradicting sometimes what has been produced historically about the location of, historic events and people and the like.

This work is being funded by a $1.3 million grant from Trenton.

Senator Andrews Wicker says studies like this are crucial for the upcoming influx of history buffs likely to come by for the nation's Semi Quinn centennial, or 250th birthday.

And if Washington is, troops don't win the Battle of Princeton.

Then perhaps we don't win the war at all.

We want to ensure that places like Princeton, but all of our revolutionary sites have the resources they need to be ready for the 250th.

To have those funds available gives you the ability to to really investigate a site like this and learn more about 200 plus years of new Jersey history right underneath our feet in Princeton, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.