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Amateur Archaeologist Couple Is Excavating Ancient Outhouses Buried in Philadelphia
Matt and Melissa Dunphy have developed a fascination with their city’s history hidden under the surface
Lexi Lane of People
March 14, 2026
A husband and wife joined a group of amateur archaeologists in the hope of uncovering Philadelphia’s hidden history.
Matt and Melissa Dunphy are part of the team who are exploring 300-year-old bathrooms and searching for ancient items in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
They first decided to start searching for treasures after buying a home that had a small theater. The area of their house used to be for old magic shows, and had a deed dating back to 1745, according to the New York Post.
“When we first saw bits of pottery and old bottles in the dirt coming out of the ground, it piqued our curiosity about who lived here before us,” Matt told the outlet.
Construction workers also found two outhouses on the couple's property, and their interest in discovering additional outhouses continued from there.
“With so much waste and loss happening in the world, bringing these everyday items to the the surface and putting them together for the first time in hundreds of years feels a little bit like fighting entropy,” Matt told the Post.
Matt and Melissa have since dug up six outhouses.
However, they have also encountered criticism from established archaeologists, who believe they could damage valuable sites that would help others learn about Philadelphia's past.
Matt said he understands and sympathizes with where their perspective.
“You’re still paying off your student loans, and a bunch of dudes without so much as an associates degree are destroying historical sites hoping to find a blue bottle they can sell for a couple hundred bucks,” Matt, who is an e-commerce engineer, told the Post.
Matt added, “But hopefully, together we can raise awareness and strengthen institutional-level protections for preserving and documenting our buried history.”