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Posted by Rich ( CT) BY CHRIS SHANNON By Chris Shannon Cape Breton Post LOUISBOURG — Unearthing history more than two centuries old has opened the eyes of 10 tourists spending a week at the Fortress of Louisbourg. The hobby archeologists have just finished digging up little fragments of a huge puzzle, which make up part of the history of Cape Breton in the late 18th Century. Rebecca Duggan, Parks Canada archeologist at the Fortress of Louisbourg, said the group uncovered many items at the former French colony which might have been expected for that era. “There are a variety of ceramics, window pane glass, glass from wine bottles,” she said. “We found musket balls, lots of nails and hardware items. There was a glass insert from a cuff link that came up yesterday.” Clay pipe stems and other fragments from smoking pipes were also found in the archeological dig on the De la Vallière property. Recovered items are brought to the field lab at Chevalier House on the edge of the fortress grounds to be processed and recorded. That job is also done by the hobby archeologists. In its third year, the two-week public archeology program held each August, at a cost of $650 per person per week, supports itself without the need of financial assistance from Parks Canada. It’s jointly co-ordinated between Parks Canada and the Fortress of Louisbourg Association. With an introduction to the site on their first day, the staff at the fortress bring the hobby archeologists up to speed on the historical significance of Louisbourg’s place within the British and French fight for colonization of North America in the 1740s and 1750s. Eighteen-year-old Emily Jira of Los Angeles, Calif., is an aspiring actress but she was interested in spending some time this summer on an archeological dig. The program at the fortress popped up during an online search and she headed to Canada for the very first time. “It sounded really fun and the timing was right,” Jira said while she scraped back some soil. “It’s more of a hobby because I’m going into acting right now, but if that doesn’t work out this is something I’d like to do.” Bob Weingart, originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., but now teaching English in Japan, travelled halfway around the world for this dig. He also found it on the fortress’s Parks Canada website. “I was looking for something to do where I could get my hands on to something and I just, more or less randomly, found this on the Internet. And I said, ‘Ah, that’s it!’” He unearthed a large chunk of a wine bottle — an exciting find. “It seems on the surface, as it were, that (the dig) is tedious, but you never know what you’re going to find and when you’re going to find it, so there is a bit of an edge all the time.” Other people involved in the dig are from Halifax, Yarmouth and Moncton, N.B. As well, there are residents from Montreal, Toronto, and a woman who moved to Calgary five months ago from South Africa. Archeologist Bruce Fry, who retired after working for Parks Canada for 35 years, said there are many reasons why someone from a far away place would want to take part in an archeological dig in Cape Breton. He said many of the high profile archeological sites around the world also come with a possibility of violence, such as those in the Middle East, Egypt and regions of Africa. “The world is getting more and more dangerous if you want to play archeology,” he said. “So (the Fortress of Louisbourg) is a safe thing. You’re within the North American context so the currency is familiar, the language is familiar. “Yet the actual site is exotic as much as we’re dealing with a 250-year-old French colony, which is quite unusual, really.” cshannon@cbpost.com Comments: This is a semi-moderated or reactively moderated conversation. Once a reader follows the steps to register and submit his or her comment it goes directly to the website. A comment may be edited or deleted for reasons of content or language. All readers wishing to join a conversation must first sign in and agree to the Terms of Usage, which explain the rules of acceptable content. 1. Do not use this to complain about comments that don't break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings. NOTE
on August 18, 2007, 12:28 pm
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Last updated at 12:02 AM on 18/08/07
Emily Jira, an 18-year-old student from Los Angeles, Calif., travelled across the continent to attend a week-long archeological dig at the Fortress of Louisbourg. The program, in its third year, will welcome another group of hobby archeologists this coming week. Chrsi Shannon - Cape Breton Post
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Glenda from Nova Scotia writes: I was at the Fortress last week and watched some of the dig, while i was watching a piece of glass was unearthed, all i could think about was I wish i was digging with them lol I have always had an interest in years gone by, sometimes i think i was born in the wrong era. Anyway, good luck to all the hobbyists, it was awesome watching.
Posted 18/08/2007 at 7:52 am | Alert an Editor | Link to comment
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