Centuries old skeletons found at Argyle

Archaeologists working at Argyle may have made one of the most important finds in the Windward Islands within recent times when they unearthed three skeletons believed to be over a 1000 years old.{{more}}

One of the skeletons was found lying, while another is in a sitting position with its legs drawn in and arms folded across the chest. Lead archaeologist Joe Moravetz said that the burials look like primary burials that took place outside the house, while a secondary burial took place with the corpse dismembered and certain parts like the head buried indoors.

Moravetz told SEARCHLIGHT that the site has been yielding many interesting objects, including stone tools, pottery and ornaments. The area being excavated is called Escape, just above the P’tani Resort; they used a backhoe to grade the top soil until they get to a yellowish soil with dark areas which indicate where objects were buried.

According to Moravetz, some of the pottery found may be from the Saladoid period named after Soladera, an area in Venezuela where the first of similar material culture was found. At another area of that site, pottery believed to be from the Suaziod period, a later era, was also found.

The process of unearthing artifacts is very delicate and time consuming, as care has to be taken not to damage the objects, so the archaeologists and volunteers are using a variety of tool from shovels to hand scoops and even dentist tools.

The three archaeologists Moravetz, Jode Mackay and Magarita Deguzman represent Bison Historical Services Limited, of Canada, and the University of Calgary, also of Canada; Marcia Lawrence, a former school teacher, is also a regular volunteer.