Turd pond may yield treasures

SEAN MCKIBBON
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — The Town of Iqaluit has hired an archeologist to look for historical artifacts on two future construction sites, including the town’s sewage lagoon.

A previous study concluded that the sites may contain ancient food caches, fox traps and inuksuit.

Town Council voted this week to hire Doug Stenton of Timescapes Consulting for “no more than $9,000” to conduct preliminary site surveys of the sewage lagoon, where a new treatment plant is slated for construction this summer, and on the Road to Nowhere, site of the next big housing development.

Both sites are set for rapid construction this summer to deal with what is expected to be unprecedented growth of Iqaluit’s population.

Town councillor Mathew Spence said the municipality is adopting a wait-and-see approach in the event that artifacts do turn up.

“That’s why we’re commissioning the study,” said Spence. He said that the sites could be dug up and preserved or that plans might be changed to avoid artifacts.

“The problem is I don’t think we have any money for that kind of thing,” said Spence.

The urgency of the sewage plant and subdivision projects and a lack of a proper storage place for artifacts could become a real problem, he said.

Both sites were identified in a report prepared by Timescapes entitled, “Archeological Site Inventory and Assessment.”

The report, which cost the town $16,000, details known archeological sites in the Iqaluit-Apex area and suggests there may be a number of undocumented sites throughout the developed and undeveloped areas of town.