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 […]
The Infant Feeder
The excavation of the Dollery site, a mid-to-late nineteenth-century domestic site in downtown Toronto, yielded a robust collection of artifacts relating to children, from medications to toys. Perhaps the most interesting and unusual is the infant feeder. The blown glass bottle is made with a nipple and nipple shield, rather than having an additional rubber […]
A Mexican Coin in Ontario
Coins and root cellars often go hand-in-hand in the archaeological world but a very special coin found in a root cellar last summer by John Sleath and crew had everyone scratching their heads. Crew member Simon Belanger announced he had recovered a “Mexican coin” that day outside Orono, Ontario which raised a few eyebrows but […]
Victoria Day
In honour of Queen Victoria, whose lengthy rule extended from 1837 to 1901, we’ve collected some regal artifacts to share with you while you prepare for this Victoria Day long weekend. These items were recovered from various sites around southern Ontario and they demonstrate the magnitude of her reign and her influence on British Canada […]
Blacker’s Brickworks
Stage 4 archaeological salvage excavations were carried out in the summer and fall of 2013 at the Blacker’s Brickworks site (AgHb-415) located within part of the area of proposed residential development at Tutela Heights Phase 1, Stewart & Ruggles Tract, formerly, County of Brant, Ontario. Operational circa 1870-1890, the site was the smallest of four […]
Elmbank Cemetery
In the fall of 2000, ASI was involved in the relocation of Elmbank Cemetery, located within the active infield area of Lester B. Pearson International Airport (Mississauga). Established in the churchyard of the original Elmbank mission, from 1832 to ca.1933, Elmbank Cemetery was the burial ground for many of northwest Toronto’s early Roman Catholic settlers. […]
New Fort Site
(East Enlisted Mens Barracks)
In 2004, ASI was contracted by Exhibition Place to determine the archaeological potential south of Princes’ Boulevard and immediately west of Newfoundland Drive in anticipation of a possible construction project in the area. The area is known to have been the site of New Fort – a complex of 29 military features (ca. 1840-1870) built […]
Snake Hill Cemetery
One of ASI’s most notable projects was the Snake Hill Cemetery in Fort Erie, Ontario that involved the discovery, exhumation, and repatriation of 28 American soldiers from the War of 1812. Archaeological investigations began at the Snake Hill Site with the discovery of Burial 2, a 24-26 year old soldier. The binding of his feet […]
The First Parliament Site
People strolling along Front, southern Berkeley and Parliament Streets, downtown Toronto, would find a car wash, a parking lot, and a car rental agency and a Porsche dealership. However, if it was possible to peek underneath the pavement, one would find an impressive relict of our national history – Upper Canada’s First and Second Parliament […]