A Tour of the Saint Mary’s University Archaeological A Tour of the Saint Mary’s University Archaeological Excavations at Grand-PrExcavations at Grand-Pré National Historic Site National Historic SiteJonathan FowlerFebruary 2007

Background

The Grand-Pré Archaeological Field School Project began in the summer of 2001 and has three main objectives:

1. provide undergraduate training

2. advance a multidisciplinary research program

3. bring archaeology to the public

The project is a joint initiative of Parks Canada,Saint Mary’s University, and the Société Promotion Grand-Pré.

The Site

Grand-Pré National Historic Site, situated in Nova Scotia’s 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.

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 500Acadian 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 ofour research.

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 majorrole to play in research concerning Acadian Grand-Pré.

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 earth’s reaction to an induced electromagnetic field. Thesereactions give evidence of buried archaeological features.

Students are trained to properly lay outexcavation units and excavate by hand.

Fieldwork

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.

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.

Office facilities are provided and note taking is encouraged.

Discoveries I

8B29: Geophysical evidence suggested a large amount of stone was buriedbeneath the grass between the memorial church and the well (Site A on map, slide 3). Archaeology has confirmed the geophysical evidence.(continued…)

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)

8B29: One of the more interesting features we found associatedwith 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 wateraway from the house.

This was also an important contextarchaeologically, as no post-Acadian artifacts were recoveredfrom the back-fill of this drain’sconstruction trench. This helps us to date the structure to the Acadian occupation of Grand-Pré.

Photo facing South.

Discoveries II

8B30: Well to the east of the memorialchurch, the geophysical evidence is muchmore difficult to interpret. This area seemsto have been much more heavily disturbed by agricultural activity in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Nonetheless, we have located someSignificant archaeological features in this area (Site B on map, slide 3).

The key feature appears to be a hearth base made of slate (pictured underexcavation at left).

Photo facing East.

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.

The artifacts we uncover help us date the site. They also give evidence of everyday activity inthe 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)

Public Outreach

Thousands of people visit Grand-Pré National Historic Site every year, and many visitors take an interest in the archaeological research.

Students play an active role in introducing archaeology to the visiting public.

Excursions

We sometimes make additional excursions to gain a better understanding of the site’s landscape context. This memorable trek (2003) took us to the mud flats below Horton Landing.

In 2006, students assisted in the recovery of anAcadian sluice from the Grand-Pré Marsh(pictured right). The waterlogged conditions of the marsh environment preserved this woodenstructure for over 300 years.

Laboratory

Most of the artifacts are cleaned initially in the field, in the Grand-Pré interpretation centre.

However, most of the post-excavation work is undertaken at the ParksCanada Archaeology Laboratory in Halifax. Here the artifacts are cleaned, sorted, labelled, and analyzed.

The Grand-Pré Archaeological Field School Project will enter its 7th consecutiveseason in July 2007. To learn more, please contact the Anthropology Departmentat Saint Mary’s University, or email Jonathan Fowler atjonathan.fowler@arch.ox.ac.uk