Archaeological survey turns up nothing at downtown Montreal site

Construction has resumed on a downtown Montreal office tower after an archaeological survey failed to turn up indigenous Iroquois artifacts in the ground below.

Developer Ivanhoe Cambridge stopped excavation work in mid-February after concerns the area might contain artifacts from an ancient Iroquois village discovered in 1859.

The survey, conducted by the firm Archeotec, said the soils were stripped during road and infrastructure construction in the 19th and 20thcenturies, leaving little to unearth.

"In particular, the surface soils that could conceal archaeological elements connected to site are clearly not there," the firm said in its report.

The area is considered a potential site of the Iroquois village of Hochelaga as described by Jacques Cartier during his second trip in 1535.

The village near Mount Royal was located in present-day Montreal, although its exact location remains unknown.

The office tower will house Manulife employees following that company's $4-billion acquisition of Standard LifeCanada last September.