Abstract

Often, if a heritage resource impact assessment or an archacological research project is conducted on a site containing human remains, the research design is abandoned or modified drastically and field activities become mere reactions to the unexpected occurrence. However, recent ground conductivity studies by Manitoba's provincial Historic Resources Branch have enabled staff to determine unmarked grave locations without disrupting the underlying burials. This technique is particularly useful in situations where Native burials are known or thought likely to be present, as it identifies specific lands which can be avoided during construction and monitored in the future. The paper discusses research at three historic cemeteries where two models of ground conductivity meters were used, the EM-31 and the EM-38. The former reads a maximum depth of 6m, white the latter penetrates only one quarter of that depth. Studies were conducted at St. Paul's Anglican Church at Middlechurch, north of Winnipeg, and at the abandoned cemeteries associated with two former Native residential schools at Elkhorn and Brandon, Manitoba. Data generated at Middlechurch, where studies were conducted over a two-year period and Branch archaeologists tested anomalies, provided a foundation for subsequent research and interpretation of the residential school cemetery sites. The paper concludes with a comparison of the EM-31 and the EM-38 meters and discusses the logistical problems of using each machine, as well as their potentiel for archaeological applications.