Remains found at Departure Bay?

[riverrat]

Okay, this might be a RUMOUR, especially as the only source I've heard this from, is my fun, gullible friend whose dad might have been messing with her:

Beside the 7-11 at Departure Bay (which used to be the Terry's Save-Rite, by Kin Beach), there's a big vacant lot (I think it used to be a parking lot and an ice cream place?). Apparently some developer had to get an archaeological survey done before he could pave it again and put buildings there.

ANYWAY, I was told that they found about 70 headless skeletons with their hands bound behind their backs. (From prehistoric Nanaimo.)

We went to the spot on Saturday night and there was a pretty big hole, with what looked like a lot of gravelly fill all around it (the dirt matrix near the hole was a native, dark soil with lots of shell fragments).

Oh god can somebody PLEASE verify this? If it's true, I'm flabbergasted that the papers haven't been all over it. Maybe it's a little sensitive? Hard to write about without offending people who maintain a picture of a pre-Contact utopia?

[fitz]

It's true! I heard about this. Apparently, they're keeping the story quite quiet at this time because there is also rumor that they were buried along with some sort of valuables, some kind of offering to the gods perhaps?... obviously they don't want people digging through there just yet.

*edit - but we should totally go down there and rummage!

[shifty]

I found this article from August 2007 while Googling... (is googling a word?) It doesn't speak to the 70 headless, bound skeletons but it's neat nonetheless.

More human remains found near Nanaimo.
More human remains have been uncovered during excavations of an ancient Snuneymuxw First Nation burial ground at a construction site near Departure Bay beach.

Chris Sholberg, Nanaimo's heritage planner, said the remains of about 15 individuals have been uncovered so far at the site next to Departure Bay's 7-Eleven store, but he doesn't know how many have been found intact or how many are scattered at the site.

"Fully intact remains are usually studied and covered over again where they lie, unless they have to be removed to make way for some aspect of the development to be built on the site, he said.

"Partial remains may be reburied by the Snuneymuxw First Nation," Sholberg said. "The area is a known winter village and burial site for the Snuneymuxw (dating back about 3,500 years)."

Developer Bruce McLay hired Duncan's Madrone Environmental Services to conduct an archeological excavation of the site, as required by the province for areas suspected or known to contain ancient remains and artifacts, before he can proceed with his plans for a condo development at the site. Sholberg said he expects the excavation could take up to two months to complete.

"The City of Nanaimo can't issue a building permit for the site until both the city and province are satisfied a complete archeological excavation has been done there," he said.

One of the first fully intact set of human remains was uncovered last week at the site, with three seashells carefully arrayed on his or her chest.

Snuneymuxw spokeswoman Geraldine Manson said it is rare to find an undisturbed Snuneymuxw burial site in the Nanaimo area. She said while Snuneymuxw remains have been uncovered at other sites, including the Foundry site downtown last year, they have mostly been disturbed by development activities in the past and scattered over large areas.

She said she was instructed by the Snuneymuxw elders not say more about the current excavations at this time.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...7-811b1a3ce7cf

[CHUBer]

i believe it was in the news some time ago because I heard about it all the way out here in Medicine Hat, Riverrat.

[TH2008]

Oh god can somebody PLEASE verify this? If it's true, I'm flabbergasted that the papers haven't been all over it. Maybe it's a little sensitive? Hard to write about without offending people who maintain a picture of a pre-Contact utopia?

It was a bloodbath around here before the white man arrived as well. I am not sure why this did not get more news and attention than it did, but it's really something to find 70 bodies with their heads cut off.

TH

[CHUBer]

Ancient bodies had hands bound
Surprising discovery in Departure Bay raises questions about a massacre

Nanaimo Daily News
Saturday, October 06, 2007

A traditional burial ground, or the site of a massacre?
Questions continue to surround the discovery of the remains of more than 80 First Nations people at an excavation site near Departure Bay beach in Nanaimo.
Excavation for a condo development uncovered the remains at the ancient Snuneymuxw burial site.
On Friday, Nanaimo media members received an anonymous tip suggesting that at least 60 of the bodies were uncovered, with their hands bound and their heads removed, suggesting a massacre had occurred.
Calls to Madrone Environmental Services, conducting the archeological excavation of the site near Departure Bay Road's 7-Eleven store, and the Snuneymuxw's Geraldine Manson were not returned on Friday.
When the excavation began in August, at least one set of intact remains were found with three seashells carefully arrayed on its chest, suggesting a peaceful burial.
Chris Sholberg, Nanaimo's heritage planner, said there is no collaborative evidence he knows of to support a massacre scenario.
He said he expects more information will be known once Madrone distributes a report on its findings.
"It's known that the Snuneymuxw were the victims of raids by other First Nations . . . but just what happened to the Departure Bay village is a big question mark," he said.
"There's no doubt there was a loss of population there, but I suspect there is a number of contributing factors to explain why, including disease and being pushed off the land by European settlers. While there's no historical evidence to support a massacre of the population by Europeans or other First Nations, more pieces of the puzzle are expected to be put together with the release of Madrone's report."
Chris Muentzer, of the Nanaimo Community Archives, said there's no reason to believe there was a massacre. "The village was only used by the Snuneymuxw for part of the year, during the winter months," she said. "It's likely they stopped using it after too many white people settled there."

[fitz]

Ok, I must admit that I thought Riverrat was trying to pull some April Fools prank... I was just going along with it, disregard my input. haha.

[riverrat]

HAha fitz! That's hilarious. You certainly had ME going.

I wonder if the soil that looks like fill, was added as a kind of protective blanket between excavations?

So, it's looking like there's nothing to corroborate the "headless" factor, or the massive numbers of skeletons? It's still really neat.

I'm surprised (as someone who considers ancient artifacts to be supercool) when landowners can pave over their land withOUT doing an archaeological survey. If I owned a bit of land, especially in an obvious (and documented) heritage site, I would pick over every square centimeter of that space to an evelation of the treetops and a depth of about 10 meters.

[Courtnie]

I really need to come here more often....

I know you guys already know it is true but I just want to add that my grandparents and their children (including my dad) lived in the house next to the lot since the late 50's / early 60's! Of course it wasn't always a lot.