Kamloops group heads to Savona and finds ancient artifacts

KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops group has teamed up with crews from T'kemlups First Nation to begin digging around Kamloops Lake in Savona and have started finding some unique historical artifacts.

Joanne Hammond of Skeetchestn Natural Resources says First Nation oral histories recall the area as a fishing station and summer habitation until the 1870s. The group relocated the scene last year as part of planning for a road upgrade.

"Now we're monitoring their construction and doing some test excavations to determine how much of the site is left, what kinds of things people were doing here and when," Hammond says. "It's not a classic academic excavation. It's cultural resource management, a common part of development in B.C."

The group is finding part of the site they're working has been seriously impacted over the last century by Euro-Canadian use.

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