Archaeology: Summer Digs During 2018 to 2020 on the Isthmus
During the summers of 2018,2019 and 2020 exploratory digs led by archaeologist Allyne H. Gliddon in collaboration with Eagle Lake First Nation and the Farabout Peninsula Coalition, were conducted on the isthmus connecting the mainland to the peninsula.
The portage on the narrow land bridge was used by ancient peoples to avoid the more dangerous wide waters of Eagle Lake, and access a safer route to the Eagle River, and further travel routes to the north in Ontario.
Among some of the artifacts discovered was a white quartz arrowhead and fragments of pottery crafted in the pre-historic style of the Laurel Culture (200BCE-900AD). The Laurel People are ancestors of the Ojibway and Cree Nations. In additional, the dig unearthed evidence of other ancient cultures inhabiting the isthmus, finding numerous pottery fragments fashioned in the traditional style of the Sandy Lake (900AD-1700AD) and Blackduck cultures (900AD-1700AD) which suggests that this location was used continuously for as much as 2000 years.
The isthmus leading out to Farabout Peninsula is home to the two registered archaeological sites ‘Migisi Onigum’ and ‘Anik Kabut Towin’ named by Elder Robert Kelly.
