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In July
2006, the Fleur de Lys Archaeology Project welcomed back the
Memorial University Archaeology Field School to resume the excavations
at Cow Cove 3 (EaBa-16), and begin a new operation at
French Island Tickle (EaBa-19). Excavations at Cow Cove 3, a
Groswater and Dorset multi-component camp that has been the object of
our investigations since 2002 yielded a number of surprises, including
preserved organic artifacts and hundreds of pieces of soapstone debris,
which had not been encountered in the previous four years of
excavations. Work at the French Island Tickle site also confirmed the
French use of this site during the late 17th century, and a Dorset
cultural affiliation for the lithic materials that were found below the
historic occupation.
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| As part of
the field curriculum, field school students also cleaned, sorted,
labelled, identified and catalogued all of the materials from our
excavations. This work was conducted in our lab at the Fleur de Lys
Research Station, where which also served as our base of operations and
living quarters. Over 1000 new catalogue numbers were assigned to
objects from the Cow Cove 3 collection, bringing the total number of
catalogued objects to 8599. An additional 491 specimens were catalogued
for the French Island Tickle site. The data generated by artifact
identification and the subsequent preliminary analysis was also used by
students in the completion of final written projects related to various
aspects of our summer's archaeological investigations. |
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In additon
to field and laboratory work, students also participated in evening and
weekend workshops and lectures. In addition to lectures on the French
Shore, and the Dorset use of the Fleur de Lys Soapstone quarry,
students participated in mapping and flintknapping workshops. As in
2005, Tim Rast led a day-long flintknapping demonstration and workshop,
which introduced students to basic knapping techniques, and provided
them with the opportunity to develop their own skills. This work not
only provided students with a better appreciation for the skills
required to make stone tools, but provided valuable lessons in
identification of the waste products of stone tool production, which
then could be applied to the archaeological record.
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