Latest Posts from William D. Finlayson
The Official Release of The Archaeology of Five Queensville Farmsteads, Volume 2, Our Lands Speak
Welcome back. As I discussed in my last blog, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the operation of Sharon Temple as a museum open to the public. After its closure in 1889, the temple sat derelict for many years until it was purchased by the York Pioneers and...
Sharon Temple National Historic Site and The Archaeology of Five Queensville Farmsteads
This year, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the preservation of the Sharon Temple and its operation of a museum open to the public—and you’re invited to the celebrations on Sat, Sept 8 at 2pm. It is a happy coincidence that this year also sees the publication of...
OLS Reflections: Excavation of Armstrong Burial Mound, Rainy River, Ontario
Thanks for joining me again this week, as I share with you my discoveries around the excavation of burial mounds. Burial mounds are a unique burial practice of a few pre-contact Indigenous peoples in Ontario. These groups would bury their dead in, or under, mounds of...
OLS Reflections: Pukasaw Pit Underwater Archaeological Survey, Lake Superior
Welcome back. Here’s another walk down memory lane. You may recall in my previous post, I described Professor Roger Deane’s underwater geological survey from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island during the summer of 1965 in which I was one of the divers. Once we completed...
OLS Reflections: 1965 Underwater Geological Survey, Tobermory to Manitoulin
In this post, I’m pleased to share with you an excerpt from my unpublished memoir, continuing my exploration of underwater geology. Enjoy these reflections of the past. After testing our underwater survey techniques in Lake Superior and doing a recreational dive in...
OLS Reflections: Time Off from an Underwater Geological Survey in Northern Ontario
When I was a young man of 15, I became a NAUI certified scuba diver, which led me into underwater archaeology initially. As I got older, I became fascinated by the work of George Bass, exploring Bronze Age shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea. With my diving...
Our Lands Speak Reflections Blog Series: Fifty-four Years and Going Strong
July 2018 marks the beginning of my 54th year doing archaeology in Ontario. I have had an amazing career; and it is now time to reflect on my accomplishments and a handful of challenges facing Ontario archaeology. Highlights include: Working in the field as a student...
Our Lands Speak: An Unusual Gravestone in Southern Ontario
Thanks for joining me again as we explore another fascinating graveyard find. In the late 1990s, a friend Bill Gregg from the Halton Region notified me of a very unusual gravestone in the cemetery at the Ebenezer Church, a few km north of Campbellville, Ontario. A...
Our Lands Speak: An Unusual Grave Marker from Ivanhoe Lake
Archaeology is a fascinating industry that I am thankful to be a part of. You never know what you might find next, this week’s discussion is no exception. In March 2001, I took early retirement from the London Museum of Archaeology and began to explore the possibility...
Our Lands Speak: Technique to Collect Preserved Plant Remains
Find out how we recover seeds and plant samples from an archaeologic site with a technique called flotation.