A Tour of the Saint Marys University Archaeological

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A Tour of the Saint Marys University
Archaeological Excavations at Grand-Pré National
Historic Site Jonathan Fowler February 2007
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• Background
• The Grand-Pré Archaeological Field School
• Project began in the summer of 2001 and has
• three main objectives
• provide undergraduate training
• advance a multidisciplinary research program
• bring archaeology to the public
• The project is a joint initiative of Parks
  Canada,
• Saint Marys University, and the
• Société Promotion Grand-Pré.

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The Site
Grand-Pré National Historic Site, situated in
Nova Scotias Annapolis Valley, commemorates
both the Acadian community established at this
location (c. 1680) as well as its destruction in
1755. Our excavations of late have focused on
areas A B (in red) above.
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John Winslow was the New England officer who
deported the Acadians of Grand-Pré in autumn
1755. He established a temporary fortification at
the site of their parish church,
St-Charles-des-Mines, which he subsequently used
as a prison for nearly 500 Acadian men and boys.
Oral tradition suggests that this church is
located on the grounds of the national historic
site. Applying archaeology to this tradition is
an important part of our research.
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Despite being one of the largest Acadian
communities in the pre-Deportation period, only
brief descriptions of Grand-Pré survive in the
historical record, and very few maps provide a
visual impression of the community. Therefore,
archaeology has a major role to play in research
concerning Acadian Grand-Pré.
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Our research design incorporates modern
geophysical techniques, and numerous geophysical
surveys of the site have been undertaken in
advance of excavation with the assistance of Mr.
Duncan McNeill and the EM38B by Geonics. The
instrument permits us to see beneath the
surface by measuring the earths reaction to an
induced electromagnetic field. These reactions
give evidence of buried archaeological features.
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Fieldwork
Students are trained to properly lay
out excavation units and excavate by hand.
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We excavate according to stratigraphic layers.
The ability to discern subtle but often very
significant changes in soil colour and texture
is a skill best learned in the field.
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In addition to excavating, a great deal of time
is spent recording the evidence, both in vertical
(profile) and horizontal (plan) drawings and
photographs. Plan drawing of an 18th century
stone drain is pictured above.
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Office facilities are provided and note taking is
encouraged.
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Discoveries I
8B29 Geophysical evidence suggested a large
amount of stone was buried beneath the grass
between the memorial church and the well (Site A
on map, slide 3). Archaeology has confirmed the
geophysical evidence. (continued)
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8B29 As of summer 2006, this feature has
revealed itself to be a stone- lined cellar of
what appears to be an Acadian house. The
structure was destroyed by fire some time after
1734. Although folklore identified this as the
site of the Acadian parish church, this
structure appears too small to be
St-Charles-des-Mines (scale bar 1m)
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8B29 One of the more interesting features we
found associated with the house site was a
stone- lined drain leading north from the cellar
toward the marsh. This drain would have kept
the cellar dry by channeling water away from the
house. This was also an important
context archaeologically, as no post- Acadian
artifacts were recovered from the back-fill of
this drains construction trench. This helps us
to date the structure to the Acadian occupation
of Grand-Pré. Photo facing South.
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Discoveries II
8B30 Well to the east of the memorial church,
the geophysical evidence is much more difficult
to interpret. This area seems to have been much
more heavily disturbed by agricultural activity
in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Nonetheless, we have located some Significant
archaeological features in this area (Site B on
map, slide 3). The key feature appears to be a
hearth base made of slate (pictured
under excavation at left). Photo facing East.
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8B30 Not only does this hearth feature suggest
the presence of another house, but the
associated artifacts point to a likely
pre- Deportation occupation date. Several musket
balls (as shown above), may indicate military
presence at this site, possibly from 1755. This
area requires additional work in summer 2007.
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• The artifacts we uncover help us date the site.
• They also give evidence of everyday activity in
• the colonial period.
• Artifacts pictured here
• (left) portion of an 18th century clay tobacco
  pipe
• (upper left) broken wine bottle base
• (upper right) iron key (next to trowel)

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Public Outreach
Thousands of people visit Grand-Pré National
Historic Site every year, and many visitors take
an interest in the archaeological research.
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Students play an active role in introducing
archaeology to the visiting public.
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Excursions
We sometimes make additional excursions to gain a
better understanding of the sites landscape
context. This memorable trek (2003) took us to
the mud flats below Horton Landing.
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In 2006, students assisted in the recovery of
an Acadian sluice from the Grand-Pré
Marsh (pictured right). The waterlogged
conditions of the marsh environment preserved
this wooden structure for over 300 years.
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Laboratory
Most of the artifacts are cleaned initially in
the field, in the Grand-Pré interpretation
centre.
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However, most of the post-excavation work is
undertaken at the Parks Canada Archaeology
Laboratory in Halifax. Here the artifacts are
cleaned, sorted, labelled, and analyzed.
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The Grand-Pré Archaeological Field School Project
will enter its 7th consecutive season in July
2007. To learn more, please contact the
Anthropology Department at Saint Marys
University, or email Jonathan Fowler
at jonathan.fowler_at_arch.ox.ac.uk