Over 128,600 artifacts uncovered during multi-year project
You probably don’t know that when the Region of Waterloo starts a road construction project, background studies and investigations are completed in advance to help the team understand what they may encounter as they dive into the project.
That’s what happened as we prepared for improvements to Fischer-Hallman Road. After initial archaeological screening, it was clear that historic artifacts were present, so the Region’s team made plans for further archaeological assessments.
What we didn’t expect was the extent of the findings.
Archaeological work continued from 2020 to 2023 and uncovered over 128,600 artifacts. The team hand-excavated arrowheads, blades and scrapers, jewelry, ceramics, hearths (fire pits), a sweat lodge and a longhouse.
Collaboration between the Region and several Indigenous partners was critical to this project. Working together helped us reconstruct the details of life in a Late Woodland village that existed here in 1400–1600. Throughout the project, Indigenous partners monitored archaeological excavations and reviewed findings.
We needed to find practices to ensure concerns, perspectives, and recommendations from Indigenous partners were heard and acted upon. Before fieldwork began, the Region and the consultant held one-on-one workshops with each Indigenous partner. Scheduled and unscheduled meetings at the work site helped provide continuous communication.
This work signifies the Region’s commitment to fulfilling the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, supporting the preservation of Indigenous history and cultures.
The Fischer-Hallman project is an example of how we can balance development with heritage conservation. The collaborative archaeological assessment model used by the Region and its Indigenous partners is now being adopted by other Ontario municipalities.
The project earned the team a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award from the Ontario Public Works Association. And in late 2024, the Region’s Project Manager, Justin Armstrong was recognized with a Municipal Engineers Association Award for outstanding service to the community.
(Photos courtesy of WSP E&I Canada Limited, consultants who worked on this project)
