Movember: Moustache Teacup
In honour of Movember, we wanted to show you the moustache teacup we found at the mid-to-late nineteenth century Weir I site in Scarborough. This teacup is nearly complete, with a floral decalcomania motif. Moustache teacups were made with a semicircular ledge on the inside to protect one’s highly-styled and waxed moustache from steaming tea. A small opening in the ledge would allow the tea […]
Queen’s Wharf Schooner
(LiDAR Capture)
In May 2015, ASI archaeologists discovered a schooner dated to the early nineteenth-century during an archaeological assessment of the Fort York Boulevard and Bathurst Street area, downtown Toronto. The mast step of the ship yielded an American penny, dated to 1827, which provided the date and origin for the schooner. (To learn more about “mast stepping” […]
Archaeology 101
What is archaeology? This may seem like a straightforward question, but you would be surprised with the answers that Canadians give to this question. In the early 2000s, the University of British Columbia and Department of Canadian Heritage carried out a public survey in collaboration with Ipsos Reid on Canadians’ perception, knowledge and attitudes toward archaeological heritage. They surveyed a random […]
Challenges of archaeological collections management
While buildings are among the most visible elements of heritage landscapes, they are frequently like the tip of the proverbial iceberg, associated with vast underground archaeological deposits capable of fleshing out cultural history narratives – of both pre-contact Indigenous and post-contact Euro-Canadian occupations – in substantial detail through their careful investigation. The task of curating these finds is fulfilled by over 450 consulting archaeologists licensed under the Ontario Heritage Act by the […]
Upper Canada’s first parliament buildings: A place of hopes and dreams
The discovery a decade ago of archaeological remnants of the first and second parliament buildings of Upper Canada in Toronto’s Old Town focused the attention of the city, province and nation on a cornerstone of Canadian history.
The Humble Nail
The humble nail is one of the key tools that we use to date historical sites. Three major types of architectural nails are found on Ontario sites, as well as the horseshoe nail. Hand-wrought nails: Square, or nearly so (in cross section), usually tapered to the point; head may be “rose shaped” (domed); common to 1830. […]
Henry Site
Excavated as part of the Red Hill Creek Expressway project in Hamilton, the Henry site yielded evidence of an early nineteenth-century Euro-Canadian domestic homestead occupied by Henry Spera and his descendants.
King’s Forest Park Site
Discovered during the cultural heritage resource assessment for the Red Hill Creek Expressway project in Hamilton, the King’s Forest Park site was occupied during the later portion of the Early Iroquoian period, with evidence of extensive exterior activity and refuse disposal areas.
Robb Site
The archaeological data from the Robb site suggests it is an early to mid-fourteenth century A.D. ancestral Wendat village. A total of 62,605 artifacts were recovered during excavations, including ceramics, flake and ground stone artifacts, and floral and faunal remains.
Kilmanagh Crossroads Site
Located in the town of Caledon, the Kilmanagh Crossroads site represented a blacksmith shop and domestic residence occupied between the 1860s and the 1890s. A total of 58,681 historical artifacts and seven pre-contact Indigenous artifacts were recovered.