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  Researching the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
  Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada

Jingdezhen@Louisbourg Porcelain Festival

The Jingdezhen@Louisbourg Porcelain Festival will be held in Louisbourg from July 8^th to July 23^rd.

This involves 4 porcelain artists, 2 of whom are

from Jingdezhen, China. Much of our 18^th -century porcelain originated in Jingdezhen and the reproductions, that are used on site and for sale in the gift shop are made there today. The porcelain artists are bringing materials from China, including clay, glazes and other furniture. They will be making porcelain pots on site in the Chevalier House and explaining the process to visitors. The pots will be taken to Halifax and fired in kilns at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. In addition to the porcelain artists in the Chevalier, there will be an exhibit of porcelain in the Museum Building and another exhibit case of porcelain artefacts in the Visitor Centre. There will also be a range of reproduction and modern Jingdezhen porcelain which will be for sale in the Chevalier during this period.

Rue Royale Archaeological Excavation

During the past couple of months, the archaeology department has been excavating the west half of Rue Royale. This work was to record all cultural resources located within the street that provide historical information about 18^th century life at the Fortress. As well, we collected all artifacts revealed during excavation.

The full excavation of Rue Royale was undertaken to allow new water lines to be installed along the roadway in the near future. All extant cultural resources preserved beneath the modern roadway of Rue Royale needed to be salvaged prior to commencement of construction activity.

By the end of the excavation we discovered and recorded the presence of a sub-surface brick drain, areas of disturbance on the roadway, the sub-structure of the Bakery well, areas of 18^th century construction and working surfaces and the locations of in-situ pavé.

Thousands of small, primarily domestic and military context artifacts were recovered from the roadway, under the pavé and inside the drain and well structure the interior of the well had already been excavated by William Westbury in 1968). These artifacts are currently being processed and entered into the artifact inventory.

The remaining phase of the field season will include the preparation of artifacts including cleaning, labelling, identifying and recording the finds, the Conservation Department will be stabilizing and cleaning unstable artifacts such as metal and organdies, field notes will be reviewed and final reports will be produced.

As we were working in the Louisbourg town site we had the opportunity to introduce the field of archaeology to a number of people. By having an Interpreter on site with a display of artifacts typically found in the road excavation, we were able to provide the public with a good, basic understanding of archaeology and its role at the Fortress.

New Exhibit

We are working on a new exhibit which will tell the story of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Louisbourg. The exhibit is being financed by the Millennium Fund and the Congregation, with research support from Louisbourg. Jean Pearl is the designer working for the Congregation. The exhibit will be located in the de la Perelle house and open in June 2001.

18^th Century Cemeteries

During the months of July and August, Dr. Robert Larocque, an archaeologist from Laval University, will be here for his second summer researching Louisbourg’s l8th-century cemeteries. His work on Rochefort Point will be critical in helping us find solutions for the coastal erosion threat to the burials there.

Tall Ships

Tall Ships rumours abound. There are supposed to be some ships from the Tall Ships gathering in Halifax travelling north to Louisbourg, Sydney and Baddeck. At this time we know there will be at least 2 ships and possibly 4 coming to Louisbourg on the 26^th and 27^th of July and 9 coming to Sydney. They will be berthed at the Town of Louisbourg wharfs.

New Visitor Activities Uniform

The field testing for the new Parks Canada Visitor Activities uniforms will begin shortly. During the test period, which will extend through Labour Day, sixty employees in various national parks, national historic sites and historic canals will wear completely new uniforms.

Our test participant at Louisbourg will be Louise Johnston and we encourage you to make a point of seeking Louise out and letting her know your views on the new uniform. Your comments, as well as the testers and the public will be essential to the evaluation that will take place in the fall.

Cry Murder!

The Fortress of Louisbourg will be the host of a weekly mystery tour this summer. Every Sunday, from now until September 24^th, The Fortress Players will present Cry Murder! a two-act murder mystery tour.

This brand new play takes place in the street and houses of the reconstructed fortress where you are escorted through the town and invisibly witness several scenes in which the main characters reveal more about themselves than they should. Act I ends with, you guessed it, a murder and the once invisible audience is now part of the production. After a short intermission, Act II begins with an investigation and the audience is invited to participate.

This is the third season that The Fortress Players have put on a mystery at the Fortress. Previous productions include Bloody Sunday and Murder on the Quai .

The evening starts at 7:30 p.m. in July and August and 6:30 p.m. in September. Tickets are $12.50 per person. For information and tickets, contact the Fortress of Louisbourg Volunteer’s Association Gift Shop at (902) 733-2208.

Take A Hike

The Fortress of Louisbourg Volunteer’s Association is sponsoring this years Take a Hike for Parks Canada Day - July 15^th, 2000. The event is a hike through the Fortress of Louisbourg and along the shore behind the Fortress. Registration gets underway at 6:30 at the Marconi Picnic site next the Fortress. The fee for registration is $1.00 with all proceeds going to the Fortress Volunteer Children’s Program. Your registration entitles you to be eligible to win several prizes as well as to participate in a nationwide draw to take place later this summer. Hot dogs and soft drinks will be available before and after the hike. For more information, contact the Louisbourg Volunteer’s Association at 733-3548.

Did you know.....

...John Johnston will begin work in the Halifax Service Centre on July 31^st. He will be leaving Louisbourg after 23 years. Good luck, John!

...Doug Pearl retired as of June 27^th after 24 years service with us. Doug was a member of the Warden service. Happy retirement, Doug.

...Congratulations are extended to Erna MacLeod, Storesperson and Phillip Boudreau, Soldier on their wedding which took place Friday, June 30^th.

...Congratulations to Elizabeth Tait and her husband, Adrian on the birth of their daughter. Claire was born May 9^th at 7:30 p.m.

...The woman’s shoe that is normally in the gallery exhibit in the Barracks is on vacation! It is on exhibit in the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto for a year.

...Job postings for Louisbourg positions only are posted on the Louisbourg Institute Web Site at:

http://fortress.uccb.ns.ca/ParksProject/Cbjobs.htm

The password is CB. To see the list of job positions in this database, please click on the word wheel with a java enabled browser.

If you would like to make a submission to the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Newsletter, please direct same to Donna MacNeil at 733-3551 or e-mail at donna_macneil@pch.gc.ca