Excavations draw students’ interest

Archaeological excavations being carried out at the proposed site for the Argyle International Airport have been drawing keen interest from students and teachers across the country, some of whom have already visited the site and remarked on how interesting their visit was.{{more}}

Those who visited received a general overview of the works and were given ideas as to how they could go about furthering their interest in archaeology and eventually becoming archaeologists. They heard about soil testing and learned what the different colours in the soil signify. They had the opportunity to view pieces of pottery recovered from the site, some of which date back to about one thousand years.

To date, Canadian Archaeologist Jo Moravetz and his team have received students and teachers from the Adelphi and Intermediate High Schools, and several other schools are expected to take advantage of the opportunity. They have also found evidence which show that people lived on the site as far back as 2,000 years. These, they believe, can be traced back to the Arawaks and later the Caribs.

The archaeologists who arrived here on January 15th are currently carrying out excavation work in the Escape area. The excavation is part of a Cultural Heritage plan, drawn up by the National Trust and funded by the IADC, to retrieve and document the archaeological artefacts discovered during earthworks, as well as to learn as much as possible from the escape area, which is thought to be a pre-historic habitation site.

Other aspects of the Cultural Heritage Plan include: the preservation of the derelict sugar mills at Escape and Argyle Gardens, and the preparation of a book to document the cultural heritage of Argyle.