Rush is on to study N.S. trading post site that's eroding away

Archaeologists are dusting off artifacts as quickly as they can at the site of a 17th-century French fur trading post in Port La Tour, N.S., near Barrington.

The haste is the product of coastal erosion.

They're working to uncover the site structure as well as the history of the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and early French settlers who traded in the 1620s at Fort St. Louis.

Much of the site may have already been lost to the sea said Katie Cottreau-Robins, the curator of archaeology for the Nova Scotia Museum. She is leading the excavation.  

The beach is littered with artifacts after every storm, she said. Members of the community track where they find them and send them to the museum.

"It's really helpful as we build the story here," Cottreau-Robins said.

Several trees have fallen over the last year and stones from the beach covered sites they unearthed last year, she said. "It gives you a sense of urgency to get here and do the work."

This summer is the first time the team is doing long-term field work.

So far, they've uncovered more than 3,000 artifacts, such as bones from food, delicate French stemware, dishes, spikes, nails, hinges, smoking pipes and other items that paint a story of daily life at the trading post.

"What really gets me excited are the trade beads, and the variety of trade beads we're finding," said Cottreau-Robins.

She's also finding trade copper and French gun flint that may have been modified by the Mi'kmaq to create sharp edges for tools.

Everything they find is catalogued and will be examined throughout the winter.

"I have a cardinal rule and it's never dig anything up if you're not going to learn something new. And here we're learning new things all the time."

But despite the need to move quickly, the work requires patience said Douglas Shand, one of the diggers at the site.

"That's the big thing is not hurrying," he said. "When you uncover something you've got to be careful to leave it place and record it and not try to damage it."

An exhibit of the findings from last season can be viewed at the Old Meeting House Museum in Barrington.

Read more articles at CBC Nova Scotia.