Atlantic Archaeology Centre

Atlantic Archaeology Centre
Name	Atlantic Archaeology Centre
Established	1978
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Type	Archaeological research centre
Director	Dr. Marianne K. Rousseau

Atlantic Archaeology Centre The Atlantic Archaeology Centre is a regional research institution focused on the archaeology of the North Atlantic and adjacent coastal zones. The centre conducts fieldwork, conservation, and public programming while maintaining comparative collections and archives that support research on prehistoric and historic sites across eastern Canada, Greenland, the British Isles, and northern Europe.

History

Founded in 1978, the centre grew from collaborations among the Nova Scotia Museum, Dalhousie University, and provincial heritage branches, inspired by earlier surveys such as the Maritime Archaeological Survey and the postwar coastal programs influenced by scholars from Memorial University of Newfoundland and McGill University. Early directors drew on methodologies developed at institutions like the Royal Ontario Museum and the British Museum, and the centre expanded during the 1980s alongside increased interest in Viking expansion studies, Fisheries Act-driven assessments, and heritage responses to offshore development projects involving firms such as CNSOPB and agencies like Parks Canada. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the centre integrated laboratory practices from the Canadian Conservation Institute and protocols from the Society for American Archaeology and ICOMOS.

Facilities and Collections

The centre houses conservation laboratories modeled on standards from the Canadian Heritage Information Network and equipment comparable to facilities at the Smithsonian Institution and the Scottish Maritime Museum. Permanent holdings include artifacts catalogued with accession systems used at the Canadian Museum of History, comparative faunal assemblages linked to reference collections from McMaster University and University of Toronto, and paleoenvironmental samples curated using procedures established by the National Research Council (Canada). Archives hold site reports, maps, and fieldnotes from excavations led by researchers affiliated with University of New Brunswick, Acadia University, and the University of Calgary. The centre’s wet-lab supports conservation treatments in the tradition of the Museo del Prado and the Viking Ship Museum, Oslo.

Research and Projects

Research themes include coastal adaptation studies influenced by comparative work on Norse Greenland, Mi'kmaq settlement patterns, and post-contact maritime archaeology intersecting with studies of Atlantic slave trade routes and colonial fisheries documented in records from Hudson's Bay Company. Projects have incorporated methods from LiDAR surveys used in collaboration with teams at Natural Resources Canada, radiocarbon chronologies tied to calibration curves developed by the IntCal Working Group, and ancient DNA pipelines akin to those at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Long-term field programs include landscape archaeology surveys around Bay of Fundy, underwater investigations of shipwrecks influenced by cases like the HMS Victory studies, and interdisciplinary climate archaeology partnerships with researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Education and Outreach

The centre delivers public programming modeled after outreach at institutions such as the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, offering school curricula linked to provincial standards and cooperative internships with Dalhousie University and St. Mary’s University. Community archaeology initiatives follow frameworks developed by the American Anthropological Association and best-practice guides from UNESCO for archaeological heritage education. Annual lecture series has hosted speakers from University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, and University of Copenhagen, while volunteer field seasons attract participants from organizations like the Archaeological Institute of America.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The centre maintains formal partnerships with regional heritage agencies including the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, federal bodies such as Parks Canada, and international links to the National Museum of Denmark and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Research grants have been awarded by agencies like the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, infrastructure support has come via collaborations with the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and conservation projects have been co-developed with the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Field Museum. Industry partnerships for marine surveys have involved companies similar to Canadian Natural Resources Limited and consulting firms following standards set by the Association for Environmental Archaeology.

Notable Finds and Exhibitions

Highlights include maritime artifacts from multiple wrecks documented alongside comparative cases such as the Mary Rose, prehistoric coastal sites with lithic assemblages paralleling finds from Cape Breton and Labrador, and early contact material culture linked to European voyages recorded in archives like the Hudson's Bay Company records. Exhibitions have toured in venues including the Canadian Museum of History, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and international displays at the National Museum of Denmark and the Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, showcasing objects conserved to standards comparable with exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. Ongoing displays emphasize contextual narratives that draw on research by scholars from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Dalhousie University, and the University of Toronto.

Category:Archaeological research institutes Category:Museums in Nova Scotia