Artifacts unearthed from human rights museum to be unveiled

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg is set to release details on hundreds of thousands of ancient artifacts that were found at the site where the museum was built.

Archeological teams unearthed about 400,000 artifacts between 2008 and 2012, while the museum was under construction, in what officials say was the largest block excavation ever to be conducted in Manitoba.

• Timeline: Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Museum president Stuart Murray and other officials will announce the results from the archeological work at a news conference Wednesday morning.

Theexcavation produced major findings about the significance of the museum's location at The Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meetfor the province's early inhabitants, said museum spokesperson Angela Cassie.

"We've learned some new elements about the site that will really inspire people about The Forks and confirm a lot of the indigenous teachings related to this location as a meeting place and a trading place," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

Cassie said sacred materials and evidence of early farming practices were discovered among the artifacts.

As well, some non-local designs were found on ceremonial pipes that couldprovide evidence of some kind of sophisticated long-distance trade network.

Some of the recovered artifacts will be put on display at Wednesday's event, in the presence of aboriginal elders and archeologists.

The museum is currently slated to open next year.