Royal Rouge Trail Erosion Control Project - Toronto and Region ...

The primary purpose of the Stage 3 investigation was to determine the limits of the site
encountered during Stage 2 assessment where four lithic flakes were located in four separate
test pits along the western boundary of 36 Royal Rouge Trail. Because the artifacts were
found along the fence line, the Stage 3 assessment was targeted for both 34 and 36 Royal
Rouge Trail. A second objective of the investigation was to determine the cultural affiliation of
the site and determine if it was associated with the Seneca Village located nearby. This
seemed possible despite the fact that no Woodland artifacts had been encountered in this
yard during Stage 2, however a single body sherd had been recovered in a test pit at 32
Royal Rouge Trail during the same Stage 2 assessment (TRCA 2010a). Due to the sensitive
nature of the Bead Hill site nearby, and because a Woodland artifact was found during the
Stage 2 assessment, First Nations Liaison Corrine Hill was retained to work at this site during
the Stage 3 investigation and to remain during the Stage 4 excavation if required. The third
and final objective of the Stage 3 investigation was to determine the soil profile and the
degree of disturbance at the site.
Stage 3 investigative units were hand excavated in 1m² units according to current technical
standards on a five meter grid until units contained no artifacts, or until areas of severe
disturbance or obstacles were reached, or until a property with a registered site was reached
that was to be assessed independently. Occasionally, units were slightly relocated if trees,
shrubs or other immovable objects were in the way. The TRCA restoration/erosion control
staff responsible for the slope remediation advised that excavations within the drip line of
trees on the properties be avoided and that any plantings that contributed to the stability of
the adjacent slope be avoided. However, it was determined that individual units, as opposed
to block excavations, would do minimal harm to the plantings if the roots were left intact and
would still provide a clear assessment of the site limits. Units were excavated in stratigraphic
layers to five centimetres below subsoil. Once the limits of the site were identified, additional
units comprising at least 20% of the grid unit total were excavated in areas of dense artifact
concentrations or where positive test pits were encountered during the Stage 2 assessment.
All soil was screened through 6mm mesh to facilitate artifact recovery and all artifacts were
collected and retained.
Twenty-seven 1m² units were excavated during the Stage 3 investigation. Twenty-one units
were excavated on a five metre grid across the two properties. An additional six units were
excavated in areas of dense artifact concentrations or in locations where positive Stage 2 test
pits were encountered. No diagnostic Woodland artifacts such as body sherds were
encountered; instead all artifacts found were lithics and the single diagnostic projectile point
which dated to the Late Archaic (3500-2800 BP). A total of 355 artifacts were collected from
the 27 1m 2 units. This included 347 flakes, 4 chipped stone tools or tool fragments, 3 soil
stained faunal fragments, and 1 calcined bone. The Stage 3 investigation concluded that the
Jhuman site contained far more cultural information than was indicated during the Stage 2
assessment and appears to be a high-density multi-component Middle and Late Archaic
campsite. Due to the threat of erosion and the proposed erosion control measures to be
implemented, it was determined that avoidance and protection was not a viable option for
this sensitive resource and that Stage 4 excavation was required.
The purpose of the Stage 4 excavation of the Jhuman site was to document and remove the
site data as completely as possible given the constraints of working in a subdivision with
fences, decks, swimming pools, gardens and disturbed soils and also with the inherent risks
of moving large quantities of soil in an area at risk of severe erosion. In accordance with
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Project Plan
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Royal Rouge Trail Erosion Control Project January 2010