BC

Ancient bison bones unearthed at Saanich construction site

Jeff Bell, Victoria Times Colonist - YESTERDAY

VICTORIA — Bison bones that are as much as 14,000 years old have been unearthed at the construction site for the new Nigel House, a facility for adults with disabilities near Saanich Municipal Hall.


Ed Davies with old bison bones found at the excavation site for a new Nigel House near Saanich Municipal Hall.© Provided by Vancouver Sun

The bones first turned up during excavation work in October, with more discovered Friday by workers, said paleontologist and geologist Ed Davies, who was brought in to help deal with the ancient relics.

“We found two shoulder blades, a couple of ribs, a whole bunch of toe bones, several vertebra and one horn,” Davies said. “We’ve got quite a good representation of what appears to be one animal.”


The excavation site for a new Nigel House near Saanich Municipal Hall, where ancient bison bones were discovered.© Adrian Lam

Davies said it’s rare to find multiple elements of one animal in context “to work out the environment that it was living in.” The bones, which have been taken to the Royal B.C. Museum for Carbon-14 dating and DNA tests, were found in “marine sediment,” indicating there was flooding in the area at the time, as a glacier covering the land was melting, he said.

That shows there were bison around at the time of the glacial retreat, Davies said: “That’s kind of important and it means that there might have been a large-animal food source for people who were migrating into the area.”

The area also included a sandbar populated with clams and snails.


Close up of bison scapula and rib bones. Via Ed Davies

The discovery of bones this old and this intact is “significant,” said Davies, who suspects they come from a very large male bison up to five metres long.

The bones found Friday, including a foreleg, came from the pile of material left from the original excavation, and are likely from the same bison remains located earlier, he said.

He said bison bones were also found a number of years ago during construction work at Cook and Haultain streets.

Work was immediately halted in the area of the first find Oct. 19 so the bones could be protected. The recovery plan was approved by the B.C. Fossil Management Office, and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations were contacted.

Derrick Bernardo, chief executive of Broadmead Care — which owns and operates Nigel House — said residents of the existing Nigel House adjacent to the site have been closely watching the work and are excited about the find.

Bernardo said there will probably be some sort of acknowledgment of the bones at the new facility, perhaps using pictures or castings: “We could display that and showcase our find.”

The New Home for Nigel House fundraising initiative is continuing during construction.

Read more from the Times Colonist.