CAMBRIDGE - The team of archaeologists that had been working at a Cambridge dig site since last fall have packed up their trowels and are analyzing what they found, according to the Region of Waterloo.
The region hired the team from ASI Heritage to complete an archaeological assessment on property east of the roundabout connecting McQueen Shaver and Franklin boulevards last fall in advance of a major road extension through the corn field starting next spring.
What they found, however, remains a mystery.
In an email to CambridgeToday, project manager for the McQueen Shaver extension Andrew Doman said although the fieldwork is complete, those details can't be shared yet.
The company is analyzing the findings now and once that is complete, the region will meet "with all First Nations communities" to discuss the results and obtain their approval and confirmation that no further work is required.
"The next step will be to prepare reporting for provincial clearance approvals," he wrote. "We expect this remaining work will take a while; perhaps into the end of this year or early next year, depending on what responses or requests we get from First Nations communities and the province."
The extension of the south boundary road to roundabouts connecting Branchton Road, Dundas Street South and Wesley Boulevard is scheduled to get underway next spring.
Doman said he doesn't expect any further work on the site to disrupt that timeline.
The $20 million extension will eventually join the long-discussed East Boundary Road at Wesley Boulevard, providing access to the city's new recreation complex in the South Point subdivision.
The region recently won an award for its consultation with Indigenous communities for an archaeological dig in Kitchener that unearthed more than 128,000 artifacts on Fischer-Hallman Road.
