A Window Into The Past Of The Saint-Gabriel Basins
In 2005, CLC carried out archaeological excavations at 1500 Ottawa (Figure 1) in order to locate the remains of the walls around Basin 4.
These excavations were carried out by digging 2 m x 5 m holes in the soil. Unfortunately, it was impossible to reach the base of the walls and determine the depth of the basins due to the level of the water table.
Some Interesting Discoveries
The area around Basin 4 is made of masonry, except for the entry of the basin, which is made of concrete. Excavations revealed subsequent layers of the walls that include 4 to 6 different components. The composition of these layers corresponds to different time periods in the basins construction (Figure 2, Table 1).
Table 1: Layers and components:
| Layer No. | Components | Chronology |
| 1 | Asphalt | After 1970-2005 |
| 2 | Rock dust | |
| 3 | Sand-based till with many pebbles | Around 1970 |
| 4 | Sandy silt, inclusion of limestone blocks and wood planks | |
| 5 | Stone wall | 1883 |
Note the specific form of the step-shaped wall seen in Figure 2. Three walls of this basin (north, east, and west) appear to have the same step shape with at least three steps. Unfortunately, the high water table did not allow the excavation to reach the base of the basin walls. This type of basin construction has been seen as far away as Chatham, England, and points to a possible history (Figure 3).
The archaeological dig confirmed the presence of the walls around Basin 4 and provided historical and archeological information.
Source (text and images):
- Société d’Archéomatique Chronogramme-Lauverbec, Archeological Inventory, Basin no.4, Lachine Canal, Preliminary Report, Montréal (2005)
