archaeology97~98

fleur de lys archaeological project

highlights of the 1997-1998 field investigations

The 1997-98 field investigations were focussed on the excavation of over 40 contiguous square meters adjacent the main soapstone outcrop. The results of this program of excavation surpassed our expectations regarding the nature and richness of this archaeological resource. Our endeavours resulted in the recovery of approximately 3800 artifacts, including over 175 well-preserved timbers that were situated at the bottom of a two metre deep tailings deposit.

Timber Preservation and Dorset Ladle
The discovery of a finely crafted wooden ladle (pictured right) from the base of the deposits, and from amongst a mass of well-preserved timbers (left), is interpreted as a food or drinking vessel that was inadvertently left behind by its owner during a visit to the quarry. This rare artifact was radiocarbon dated by association with a nearby wood sample to an age of AD435.

Quarrying Tools
Preliminary analysis of the technology used by Dorset peoples in quarrying soapstone at Fleur de Lys, confirmed that tools were generally expedient in nature. They consisted of a wide range of hard stone pecking tools, scrapers, chisels, wedges, small abrading tools, large bifaces, hammerstones and mauls. All of these tools were fashioned from locally available and abundant raw materials. Four general Stages of Production are tentatively identified with the tools pictured above.


Stage 1 Preform Isolation Tools	Stage 2 Preform Isolation Tools	Stage 3 Extraction Tools	Stage 4 Finishing Tools

Finished Vessel Production
Prior to our investigations in 1997, it was generally assumed that Dorset peoples at Fleur de Lys were carving preform (unfinished) vessels from the soapstone quarry, and then transporting this material to some other location to complete the carving process. While this still may be true, our excavations have yielded fragments of finished pots from the quarry site. This new evidence, in the form of "finished" incised vessel fragments (pictured below), along with the recovery of small abrading and finishing tools (pictured above, as Stage 4 - Finishing Tools), demonstrates that the entire manufacturing process of soapstone vessels was conducted at the quarry, at least some of the time.

The Extraction Process
In 1998, archaeologists were given their first glimpse at unweathered extraction scars found at the base of the deposits. The deeply buried layers of silts and clays that enveloped a series of well-preserved timbers, provided a cold, wet, and oxygen deprived environment that was not only ideal for the preservation of organic materials, but also resulted in the immaculate preservation of the soapstone. As shown in this photograph, single pecks and gouges from the quarrying tools remain clearly visible in the soapstone cliff face. These markings make it possible to understand the various stages of preform isolation, carving, and the eventual removal of the preform vessel. The level of detail preserved in the quarry face at these lowest levels will also facilitate use wear studies on the hundreds of quarrying tools recovered from the deposits.

Excavations at the Quarry FaceExcavations completed in 1998 also revealed that the worked quarry "face" curved outward below the ground surface forming a worked "ledge" that is approximately two metres below the present day ground surface. The depth of these deposits is due to Dorset excavations along the soapstone outcrop to access soapstone below the original ground surface. To explain this excavation activity, the following hypotheses are proposed:
(1) soapstone below ground was softer and more easily worked,
(2) buried deposits may have been better quality material,
(3) above-ground sources of workable soapstone may have been exhausted,
(4) the acquisition and use of soapstone may have been culturally directed,
(5) a combination of these factors may have contributed to the pattern of quarrying activities.

Culturally Diagnostic Artifacts
Dorset artifacts such as endblades (left to scale) were recovered at the quarry site for the first time in 1997. These finds are significant insofar as they represent the only culturally diagnostic material found at the quarry site. The soapstone plummet (right to scale), represents a use of the soapstone by Maritime Archaic peoples 2000 years earlier.

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