Out exploring the back roads of Highlands last weekend, I spied an old concrete structure, moss-covered and crumbling, almost hidden among the trees along a small creek.
A couple of phone calls and a bit of poking about on the Internet determined that it was likely a steam-powered shingle mill that operated in the 1930s.
It sits on private property, cause for a twinge of jealousy. That would look good in our backyard, a bit like those whimsical architectural follies that graced 18th-century English gardens: reconstructed Gothic ruins, bits of classical temples or fragments of medieval castles.
The best we can do is an old well that apparently supplied a cabin during the logging era in our neighbourhood. It has been mostly filled in, but the red bricks that line the hole are still visible. I keep poking around, hoping to find a foundation or something else to connect with regional history. I found a dog-chewed Frisbee in the bushes that looked pretty old, but its provenance is suspect.
While it might sound romantic to discover archeological treasures under the back lawn, the reality can become a headache, and it can leave you with a depleted treasury, particularly if human remains are involved.
The cost of replacing the Craigflower Bridge went up a few hundred thousand dollars because of the discovery of human remains and a midden on the site. The archeological-services budget for the project has been boosted from $130,000 to $400,000.
That’s not a major hit to a $16-million project — contingencies are built in for that sort of thing — but it’s a sum that could be devastating to a person building or remodelling a home.
Under B.C.’s Heritage Conservation Act, a developer or homeowner is responsible for the cost of archeological investigation of a site. A woman bought her parents’ Oak Bay property and removed the existing house with the intention of building a new home. Because of the possibility of archeological artifacts being found on the property, she required a permit before she could build the new house. The digging began, and eventually, she was out about $600,000 in archeological costs.
This is not an uncommon story on Vancouver Island — a project can be held up for years with costs running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars before the archeological and cultural issues are resolved.
B.C.’s legislation in this regard is among the strongest in the country. Such legislation is a boon for archeologists, but it’s also a boon for all of us — in jurisdictions where this legislation exists, many thousands of sites that would otherwise have lain undiscovered have been investigated and catalogued, adding to our knowledge of the past.
The Eurocentric settlers who came to Vancouver Island did not value or recognize sites connected to aboriginal history. Many questions will never be answered, but archeology is always looking for answers, and every find has the potential to deepen understanding of the past.
The trouble is, once the digging starts, the landowner has no control over the process and is on the hook for the costs. Someone excavating a property and finding archeological signs could easily be tempted to bury the evidence and keep on building, rather than risk being liable for many thousands of dollars worth of archeological services.
Who’s to say that hasn’t happened? If so, more threads to the past are cut.
It should be no surprise to anyone that an unbroken tract of land on the south Island would contain archeological sites, particularly near the waterfront. Despite the Eurocentric perspective that saw Vancouver Island as empty land waiting to be settled, this area has been inhabited for thousands of years and has a rich history. We don’t want to lose that.
Legislation dictates that such work be done — government should therefore be responsible for the costs. Perhaps that could be taken care of by a pool-type of fund that pays out after a certain cost is incurred, something like a deductible in insurance.
People buying a piece of property in good faith, especially in a developed area that has been previously occupied, shouldn’t be punished for surprises that are uncovered later.
I’m still going to keep a sharp eye out for artifacts when I’m hoeing my garden.
