Tannery Village demolished 'on the sly,' says Projet Montral

TransportQuebechas demolished most of the archaeological site known as the Tannery Village, one week before the official end date of the excavation, a move that has the city's Official Opposition party upset.

Saint-Henri-des-Tanneries was a small settlement on the outskirts of Montreal in the 18th and 19thcentury.

• Tannery Village ruins to be demolished, government confirms

• TurcotInterchange construction work unearths18thcentury village

Workers were presentSaturday morning to raze the site, somethingProjetMontralsays was done without warning and 'on the sly.'

"While archaeologistshad indicated that excavations would continue until Sept. 26, the backhoes arrived this morning to destroy the remains of an important Quebecarchaeological site,"Southwest boroughcouncillorAnne-MarieSigouinsaid.

"The silence of DenisCoderreallowed TransportQuebecto do what it wanted with the ruins."

TransportQuebec spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun says it was the contractor's decision to go in on Saturday.

"It's not sneaky or secret, we announced foundations were going to be removed last week," she said.

"Once we authorize contractor to work,he manages his own schedule."

DinuBumbaru, policy director withHeritage Montreal, an independent non-profit,said the area was once animportant site for leather production.

"It was where back in the 1780s there was this kind of small traditional artisan industry, you know, working with leather was always very important because of the horses,"Bumbaru said.

At a public meeting earlier this month, TransportQuebecannouncedthe remains of the Villagewouldbe destroyed as work on the$3.7-billion Turcot Interchange project continued. The area is needed for the construction of a water collector which will serve 140,000 households.

The decision to destroy the remainsoutraged heritage activists, who say the plan for the infrastructure should be revised to accommodate the preservation of the village's remains.