Turcot Interchange construction site unearths new artifacts

More artifacts have been uncovered at the site of the new TurcotInterchange in Montreal'sSt-Henrineighbourhood.

Excavation of the newTurcotInterchange has unearthed another tannery, this one about 200 metres from the Saint-Henri-des-tanneriesvillage discoveredlast summer.

• TurcotInterchange construction work unearths18thcentury village
• Tannery Village ruins to be demolished, government confirms

The stone walls of the building are gone, but several basins and baths used for tanning remain.

TransportsQubecmade the announcementMonday afternoon.

Unlike the tanneries found in the original village, this tannery was never reconstructed or altered, giving archeologists a better understanding of how the industry functioned in the18thand19thcentury.

Transports Quebec archeologist FrankRochefortpainteda picture of a bustling industry. It wasplacedoutside of Montreal because of the strong smells created by the leather treatment.

Archeologists will soon begin a dig at the site, hoping to gather artifacts.After that, the site will be destroyed.

Discovery last summer

Monday's discovery comes about a year afterarchaeologists found dozens of 18th century artifacts, including bottles and leather-working tools.

Dinu Bumbaru, policy director with Heritage Montreal, says that at the time, the area was an important area for leather production.

"At some point near the turn of the 20th century, the area was paved over and turned into a rail yard. Then of course in the 1960s, they built theTurcotInterchange," Bumbaru said.

Following the discovery of Saint-Henri-des-Tanneries,TransportsQubecmade the controversialdecision to destroy the remains of the village, in order to continue construction on the $3.7-billion project.