What Mysteries Lie Beneath Our Feet?
AUGUST 2024
A group of volunteers helped to find out – as amateur archeologists in support of a dig at Fort point museum – the site of the French Fort Saint-Mari-de-Grace. Founded in 1632 by French naval officer Isaac de Razi, the location of the fort at the mouth of what is now called the LeHave River was one of the first French settlements in North America.
Our job, under the direction of professional archeologist Wesley Weatherby, was to help uncover some remains of the original wooden palisade wall of the fort in order to source a sample of wood for carbon dating. As a complete amateur I was thrilled to be included on the sign up list with about a dozen others to help over the three day dig, filling in on two hour shifts.
The day was warm and sunny. "How difficult can this be?" I thought. It must be just like digging in my garden.
Arriving at the dig site, I asked, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, "Will we see bones?". Wesley laughed nervously, choked out a "no, not likely", and then proceeded to take the group of us into the museum to see samples of items that are typically found in a dig. A shard of pottery, the remains of an old clay pipe, part of a button, and a sample of porcelain plate. All things that have been unearthed previously at Fort Point. But no bones.
After a brief introduction we were assigned a marked off section of the plot and provided simple tools to assist us in our work - a bucket, a tiny trowel, and clippers to deal with the inevitable alder roots. The digging began. Gently scraping with a trowel in a repetitive motion, scooping the loosened dirt into a bucket, and then dumping the bucket of dirt over a fine mesh screen to uncover any tiny mysteries that may be contained therein. I quickly discovered that archeology work is not gardening. At the end of my two hour shift in the hot weather I was tired, hot, and a bit sore. It's painstaking physical work.
As my shift came to a close, excited voices shouted out that a small portion of the burned out palisade had been unearthed by one of the other volunteers. Success! A sample of the wood was extracted and was quickly stashed in a protective plastic bag marked with all the necessary details of time and place.
Being present when the mission was accomplished made it all worthwhile - an amazing introduction to archeology.
But still no bones. — Alexander MacDonald