the site features four regular “digs” — carefully dug out squares away from the shore — where visitors can sweep away the earth mining for treasures of a lost age. there’s also a “kid’s pit” for the youngest, where a toy animal prize or two might be hidden.
all of the squares are covered with a canopy, keeping away the sun as much as possible.
after filling a bucket, diggers shake the dirt through a screen, with the hope of finding a golden nugget of sorts.
it’s not uncommon to discover rusty nails or pieces of glass, relics from the days when cottages sat here and when the logging industry was a fixture along the ottawa river.
the choice finds, however, include a rock known as kichisipi chert, a waxy brownish-grey material.
typically, what is seen closest to the surfaces are “flakes”, waste materials that are chipped off in the creation of a tool. further down, 40-50 centimetres or more below the ground, pieces of pottery or arrowheads are sometimes discovered.
“most of what we find on this site dates to about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago, it’s what we call the middle woodland,” says maika, one of four ncc employees always ready to walk and talk visitors through the environment. “we do have some things that are a little younger, more like 500 or 600 years ago, but most of that is in the river.”
national capital commission (ncc) archeologist monica maika is holding an otter creek spearhead that dates back 5,000 to 6,000 years.
julie oliver
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postmedia