Dennis Minty
A viewing platform is under construction on the ridge above the Cupids Cove Plantation site, which stretches down the hill to the left.
More than 400 years ago a group of colonists arrived in Newfoundland to establish England’s first settlement there. A long-term archaeological project is fleshing out the sketchy historical accounts of what took place. By Alison Dyer The November morning was bright and crisp.
A hint of wood smoke hung in the air and the still harbor below sparkled like polished pewter. Nearby, inside a rock-lined pit, a woman carefully scraped up soil.“See that light orange subsoil, and that dark circular outline? Looks like a posthole,” said Bill Gilbert as he crouched over the pit. Sporting a long
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white moustache, he wore a wool toque and a rumpled anorak. “But is it a hole for a 17th- or a 19th-century post? We’ll cross section it to find out.” Winter was almost upon them, but Gilbert was determined to continue digging. “These are the oldest English defensive works in Canada,” he said. “The only earlier
spring • 2012
