Archeological assessment underway in Officers' Square
A team of archeologists are digging in Fredericton's Officers' Square this summer looking for any significant heritage artifacts that could be buried deep in the ground.
Brent Suttie, the provincial archeologist, said some surveys have been done in Officers' Square in the past, but not a comprehensive impact assessment.
"We're trying to assess both for the military history of the area but also answer some questions we had about whether there was anything here of significance prior to the military occupation as well," Suttie said.
The province and the City of Fredericton agreed to complete the assessment before the upcoming construction phases in Officers' Square as part of the revitalization project.
Suttie and his team have been on the grounds for three weeks and said they've already made some finds.
"We're finding some really neat things, like for instance, there's a building behind us that doesn't appear on any of our earlier maps," Suttie explained.
Suttie said the early discovery looks like it could have been a shed that was used for military hardware repair.
"We found quite a few pieces of military hardware… some broken, some that look like they have been mended in that area."
"It just helps us kinda flesh out what was going on — it's not just a parade ground, obviously there was a lot more happening."
Suttie said the team of people doing the work this summer includes representatives from the francophone and anglophone communities, as well as First Nations.
There's also some evidence of farming on the site before the military occupation. Suttie said they're hoping to get a better understanding of that timeline during the assessment, and who was doing the farming.
"We're also doing some much deeper test pits so we can assess right down to when this whole area was river bottom," Suttie said.
Sean Lee is the assistant director of engineering and operations for the City of Fredericton, He said the archeological assessment will help develop any mitigation work that needs to be done.
"As they find things or work with things, we would work with them to say 'you know, can we shift the foundation or do something a little bit different', just so that we can respect the resources that are in the ground," Lee said.
Lee said the assessment is the "next step" in the revitalization of Officers' Square, and that work on the perimeter of the field is continuing this summer.
"We're not doing any work in the centre of the square this year," Lee said.
He said it's possible that the findings could affect the timeline for the Officers' Square project, depending on what's found.
"They're looking to see what is here — I don't think they have found anything that they weren't expecting to date," he said, adding that the City will continue to work with them as the assessment continues.
