The city of Pointe-Claire is updating Ste-Anne and Saint-Joachim avenues around the area known as the Village, but it’s also discovering a part of the city’s history.
Due to the area’s heritage value, the city is required by law to conduct an archaeological dig prior to digging up any streets, in order to make sure that nothing of importance is damaged in the process.
For the past couple of weeks, archaeologists have been digging up around the area near Saint-Joachim de Pointe-Claire Church.
“For us it’s great news, it’s very interesting,” said Michel Forest, president of the Pointe-Claire historical society.
The Village is the most picturesque area in Pointe-Claire, and according to Forest, it’s also the oldest. Its history could be traced back to the beginning of the 1700s.
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“It’s one of the genesis of the village and eventually of the city,” explained Forest.
So it was no surprise that archaeologists have found a piece of what looks like a ceramic bowl, a portion of a glass stem, animal bones and even human remains.
“Obviously this might have been cemetery land,” said Forest, while standing behind St. Joachim church.
But what they weren’t expecting to find is what looks like the foundation of two separate buildings on two separate sites.
“This structure is not on the map so it’ll be interesting to see what they say about it,” Forest reacted.
The dig is expected to continue for the next couple of days. The remains will be sent out for analysis.
It can take up to a year to know the results.
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