Archaeological assessments during winter conditions

Heritage North has developed methods that allow all of the services that we provide to be carried out under even the most severe of winter conditions. Furthermore, because we have invested in the appropriate tools and our field crews are well trained, these winter assessments do not take appreciably longer to complete than they would under more favorable conditions.

Preliminary field reconnaissances are completed as usual. In cases where there are no features found which indicate archaeological potential, no further work is required. Often work is done even faster than it would normally be, as crews benefit from the ease of transportation afforded by frozen conditions.

If areas of archaeological potential require subsurface testing then a variety of tools may be used, including Pulaski axes, Thunderbolt tools, or even a 16 inch cut-off saw. The sediments from each sample location are collected into grain sacks and their locations marked. The bags are then brought back to the office where they are thawed and screened for cultural materials. Although this process is more labour intensive than it would be under more favorable conditions, assessments can usually be completed in a single day.

If evaluative testing is required because impact to an archaeological site cannot be avoided, then this too can be performed under winter conditions. The site is enclosed with plastic sheeting and propane heaters are used to increase the ambient temperature until the ground thaws. Auxiliary lighting is then installed and the site is excavated using standard summer methods.

The methods used by Heritage North for winter assessments have become the standard for winter work in northeastern BC, and are approved by the Oil and Gas Commission and the Archaeology Branch of the BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management.

A more detailed description of our winter methods may be found here.

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