-
Museum of Archaeology and History
The Montreal Museum of
Archaeology and History has been built on the spot where the city
began and contains some of the marvelous discoveries made during the
initial excavation; as well as fantastic underground tunnels that
can be toured. It was in May, 1642, where the St. Lawrence and a
smaller river joined, that a Father Vimont held the mass that
celebrated the founding of Montreal; and in attendance were Jeanne
Mance, Sieur de Masionneuve and their companions. Three hundred and
fifty years later, to the day, the new museum opened their doors to
the public. This Pointe-a-Calliere, was only known to a few
historians and it was named because Chevalier Louis Hector de
Calliere, the third governor of the city, had constructed his home
here in 1688. That point is now part of the shoreline of the island
of Montreal. This museum was started to celebrate the city's 350th
birthday, and owes its existence to the stupendous archaeological
finds that were made on the site in the 1980s. The museum and this
site are linked because of that fact and findings where actual
evidence of 1000 years of human activity and exceptional remains,
now shown in situ with complete respect for the integrity of the
discoveries and this museum is now the single biggest archaeology
museum in the country. The hundreds of relics that were found have
now been grouped into 6 main sections; the Eperon, the modern
building that has received numerous architectural awards; the
Youville Pumping Station, the Archaeological Field School, the
archaeological crypt in the lower levels, the Mariners House and the
restored Ancienne-Douane building that was the nation's first custom
house. Permanent exhibits include the fantastic Where Montreal
was Born, which takes visitors to the center of an authentic
archaeological site; the birthplace of the city. This unique
underground route, that spans 6 centuries of history, from the camps
of the Natives up to the present day, this is certainly an emotion
packed view of the heart of a city born over 360 years ago. The
route below is a trail marked with marvelous archaeological remnants
and relics that reveal the various incarnations of the site during
the past centuries. Montreal's first Catholic cemetery (1643-1654),
is here, which was discovered during the exhaustive digging in 1989;
which is the oldest man-made structure that is related to the
founding of the city. Going onward through the vaulted stone tunnel
that was once the Little Saint-Pierre River, that became a collector
sewer in 1832. In the archaeological crypt, the marketplace
interactive installation sits, where you can relive a normal market
day from 1750, with virtual characters in various scenes that show
the daily lives as it was existed back in the days of the town's
main public square. Gardens of Yesteryear is the results of
historical documents and archaeological remnants that explores the
many facets of Montreal urban life as it relates to the prominent
vegetable gardens that existed in the early French settlement. This
marvelous display was designed to be part of the 400th anniversary
of the French settlement of Acadia and after new archaeological
finds about that French era in the city helped make the Pointe-a-Calliere's
archaeological field school.
|
