Objectives of the New Severn Post Archaeological Project
This is the third post in a series by Dr. Jean-Luc Pilon about the work he is conducting as part of the New Severn Post archaeological project.
In 1982, part of our work focused on Feature B of site GlIw-1: the location of the “Old Fort” built by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1685 and destroyed in 1690. Feature B is located about 50 metres to the east of the ruins of the palisaded fort. When first discovered, this area was noteworthy for its piles of red bricks, red-brick tiles and small yellow “Flemish bricks,” all visible on the surface.
Our excavations at that time showed that there had been an important Indigenous occupation during a critical time in the history of the Severn River Basin. In a large hearth feature, around which many different activities had taken place — the preparation, cooking and consumption of meals; the manufacture and repair of equipment; etc. — we found stone tools, as well as the small flakes left behind from the making of these tools. There were also tools made of bone and antler, and sherds of distinctive Indigenous pottery. Intermingled with these items were trade goods obtained from the nearby HBC post. We recovered pieces of steel knives, parts of copper kettles, fragments of clay pipes, glass beads, musket balls, etc. There was even a prune pit, likely from fruit offered as a gift by the British during a ceremony preceding actual trading.
But why all of these bricks, which also appeared to have been disturbed by souvenir hunters in the 1960s or 1970s? In our work, we tried to address this question. We eventually found what appears to have been a brick apron in front of a fireplace, along with wooden structural elements that may be the remains of beams and joists. Together, these suggest that there had been some kind of European building at this location.
With this project, we hope to learn more about the European presence. If we can find a distinct soil layer associated with the construction of the European building — and artifacts in that soil — perhaps we will be able to identify the ethnic identity of the builders.
All this depends to a great extent on the site itself. The vegetation has greatly changed over the past 34 years, and the locations of our previous work areas are exceedingly difficult to locate.
The next post in this series will provide an overview of the start of the excavation process at the Fort Severn site.