Archaeologists returning to work in the Mill Creek Ravine after the long weekend said some of the bones they’d been digging up were stolen.
For the past couple of months, a group of eight MacEwan University students has been working alongside archaeologist Haeden Stewart to unearth remnants of the Vogel’s Meat Packing Plant. The facility was in operation in the early 1900s before it was shut down and demolished about a hundred years ago.
The team uncovered dozens of bones, mainly from cows, discarded from the plant.
READ MORE: Bones from old meat packing plant unearthed in Edmonton’s Mill Creek Ravine
Those were the bones that were taken over the weekend, the group says.
“It’s information that’s lost forever now,” Dr. Katie Biittner said, “pieces of the puzzle that are gone that we can’t use to complete our picture.
“With so many answers around how the animals were being butchered and slaughtered — that’s lost. The age profiles — what animals were they selecting for the butchering process? That might tell us something about when the garbage dump was in operation. Were they taking young cows or were they taking old cows? That information is lost.”
The bones are protected under federal legislation.
READ MORE: Big changes proposed for Edmonton’s Mill Creek Ravine
“I’m frustrated and angry on behalf of my students who spent weeks painfully, carefully excavating these as part of their training,” Biittner said.
“I’m frustrated as an archaeologist who recognizes the value of these objects for understanding our past and our history here in the city.”
Watch below: An archaeological dig is happening in Edmonton’s Mill Creek Ravine. Dr. Katie Biittner and Haeden Stewart tell us exactly what is happening.