The Cambridge based archaeological firm ASI will continue work with members of the Indigenous community on how best to conserve what they've uncovered at a dig site in the city's south end.
Staff negotiated a recent $1.7 million contract with ASI to continue work the company began in the fall of 2023 in advance of a project to extend McQueen Shaver Boulevard through to Branchton Road beginning in 2026. The dig has been happening next to the Mcqueen Shaver and Franklin boulevards roundabout since December 2023.
The region's manager of corporate communications Lynsey Slupeiks told CambridgeToday the dig was paused last fall due to weather and will resume in the spring.
"The investigation is anticipated to be completed, along with the required final reporting, consultations and approvals by December 2025. We expect to provide results in early 2026, subject to First Nations approval,” she wrote in an emailed response.
Soon after the dig began, an ASI team member confirmed the company was brought in to look for any signs of Indigenous activity as part of a routine excavation required in advance of development.
That work continued into Stage 2 and 3 excavations last spring.
According to the province, a Stage 3 archaeological assessment happens when a consultant determines the dimensions of the site, evaluates its cultural heritage value or interest and, where necessary, makes recommendations for Stage 4 mitigation strategies.
Last August, project manager for the road extension, Andrew Doman, said fieldwork was complete at the site but details of what was found couldn't be shared yet.
According to the province, the next a stage involves implementing conservation strategies with Indigenous communities and other heritage stakeholders.
Those strategies can involve "putting long-term protection measures in place around an archaeological site to protect it intact."
Called protection in situ, this is always the preferred option for mitigation of development impacts to a site, says the province.
If protection is not viable, which in this case it most likely isn't, mitigation can involve documenting and completely excavating an archaeological site before development takes place.
Clues as to why the archaeologists were called in for the Stage 4 assessment may lie in the fact the site sits about two kilometres from a significant discovery made near Myers Road and Water Street South back in the late '80s.
Nine longhouses surrounded by a palisade and approximately five human remains were found in a pre-construction dig at what is now a subdivision near Myers Road and Water Street South.
The region wouldn't say if the recent dig has added to the timeline or cost of the planned extension of the south boundary road.
McQueen Shaver to Branchton Road is one of four major projects slated to get underway in Cambridge over the next few years where costs have ballooned.
According to budget estimates released last fall, the region anticipates extending McQueen Shaver Boulevard from Franklin Boulevard to Dundas Street South will cost $33 million in 2026, an increase from the $20.3 million estimated in 2023.
