Dollery Site
Urban archaeological fieldwork conducted in the hustle and bustle of the big city can be exciting. The potential exists to uncover some extremely complex sites created over decades and centuries of development, demolition and rebuilding. As people live their lives on small parcels of inner city land, the parcels are changed by their daily activities. […]
The Village of Ayr
ASI recently conducted a cultural heritage resource assessment in the Village of Ayr in the Township of North Dumfries, Region of Waterloo. The purpose of the assessment was to create an inventory of built heritage resources and cultural heritage landscapes along three streets in the study area, including sections of Swan Street, Stanley Street, and Northumberland […]
Toronto General Hospital Site
ASI conducted archaeological investigations at the site of Toronto’s first General Hospital between 2006 and 2010. The hospital was situated on the Town of York Hospital Reserve, as illustrated on maps of the day. Our work began at 326-358 King Street West in downtown Toronto, now home to the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Excavations were required to […]
3 Merry Widows
Of the over 20,000 domestic artifacts recovered from the Weir I site in Scarborough, Ontario, this little one caught our eye. The small, round aluminum container is stamped “3 Merry Widows/Agnes, Mabel, Beckie.” Dating from the 1920s and 1930s, 3 Merry Widows was a popular brand of rubber (and, therefore, reusable) condoms. The use of […]
Remembrance Day
As Ontario archaeologists, we often come across objects from the many wars that have involved British and Canadian forces. In honour of Remembrance Day, we’ve found a few more items to share with you from our sites. Lest we forget. The first items in our series are from the Loretto Site in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The […]
Robbie Burns Day
In honour of Robbie Burns Day, we’d like to share with you a Scottish artifact that we found recently on a site in Aurora, ON. This metal button (measuring 2 cm in diamater) is embossed with the words “COMUN NAN GAEL” on the front, which translates as “Land of the Gaels” in the Gaidhlig language of […]
St. Patrick’s Day
In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, we would like to present a few of our favourite Irish artifacts collected from various sites around Ontario. Enjoy! Recovered from the Holden site in Stouffville, this brass, looped-back button (Cat.#4047) is decorated with the image of Daniel O’Connell. An important figure in Irish history and national icon, Daniel O’Connell […]
The Battle of York
In honour of 200th anniversary of the Battle of York, a battle that was fought on April 27th, 1813, we would like to share a few artifacts discovered at Fort York that are dated to the War of 1812. [line] This musket ball artifact was found during excavations for the Visitor’s Centre at the Fort […]
The Broke Token
This “Broke Token” was found in the buried topsoil of the Loretto Site in Niagara Falls. Interestingly, this North American token was found in the same stratigraphic lot as the pai sikka (learn about the pai sikka token). The token was struck to commemorate the first naval victory of the War of 1812 by […]
The Expedient Tool
Various types of stone tools are recovered from Ontario’s archaeological sites each year. Some are formed so perfectly that we know what their intended use was, and others are shaped in such a way that we can pretty much date them to one of Ontario’s prehistoric periods. However there is a tool type that can […]