The City of Laval announced on Wednesday that it is starting an official inventory of historically significant items expected to be found during an archeological excavation being undertaken in Sainte-Rose around Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church and the nearby Berge des Baigneurs, both of which were once part of the centre of the Village of Sainte-Rose.
The excavation and inventory are taking place before the start of work on a new riverside park to be located behind the church in the middle of Vieux Sainte-Rose.
As the work to create the new park would probably damage any historical artefacts lying beneath the ground, the archeological excavation is expected to help preserve them.
“Laval has a rich but little known history,” says city councillor for Sainte-Rose Virginie Dufour who sits on the executive-committee. “By carrying out this inventory, the City of Laval is being proactive in order to document, protect and preserve its heritage. This is an important step to be completed before redoing the Berge des Baigneurs, which is highly appreciated by people in Laval. But this is also an exceptional opportunity to deepen our historical knowledge of the sector.”
The archeological team is expected to sample the ground for a period of around 30 days in order to confirm whether there are significant samples of historically valuable materials and whether they are in a reasonably good state. The ultimate goal, according to the city, is to compile a history of the area’s past through artefacts left behind by First Nations peoples, followed by European settlers who came later.
