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Archaeology
Dig Into the Unearthed History of Monashee Mountain Internment Camp with SFU Archaeology Students
In a small town named Cherryville in North Okanagan, British Columbia, lies the untold history of the Monashee Mountain Internment camp. This summer, students and alumni from SFU’s Department of Archaeology joined Sarah Beaulieu, from the University of Fraser Valley, for a field study to unveil clues about life at the World War I internment camp.
The cohort spent two weeks uncovering artifacts and material remains in support of Beaulieu’s study focused on the diets of prisoners at the camp.
Students benefit from field studies like these because they gain hands-on experience, hone their excavation skills and participate in research.
On the first day of excavation, they came across a trench littered with cans, a concrete cornerstone and a metal tube sticking out of the ground. These early discoveries indicated that this was an optimal location for their basecamp. As they continued to excavate, they unearthed artifacts such as a water pipe, floor structures, a hack-saw blade and dozens of corn motif ceramic vessel pieces. The field study was concluded by photographing the test pits, mapping the site and returning the land to its found state.
A student participant in the study, Nikki Simon from Archaeology Student Society, notes how pleasantly surprised she was by the results of their excavation. Despite the short duration that the internment camp was used, they “ended up finding and learning so much in the short time that (they) were there.”
The discoveries made at Monashee Mountain Internment camp will assist Beaulieu in understanding common items most consumed by prisoners, the disparities of goods between camp officers and prisoners, and potential illicit activity by prisoners in obtaining goods that were typically not allowed in internment camps.