View northwest of markers installed at LcNs-140.

In 2004, Jean Bussey of Points West Heritage Consulting Ltd. conducted archaeological investigations for the Joint Venture that operates the Tibbitt to Contwoyto (formerly the Lupin) winter road.  The winter road runs from the south end of Tibbitt Lake near Yellowknife to almost the north end of Contwoyto Lake in Nunavut.  Field investigations in the Northwest Territories portion of the winter road involved a multi-disciplinary inspection tour conducted in June and the assessment of a possible gravel pit in August.  This is the fourth consecutive year that the Joint Venture has sponsored investigations as part of their commitment to ensure that future archaeological impacts are avoided or minimized. 

 In 2001, an archaeological inventory was conducted and resulted in the discovery of 55 new archaeological sites and the revisit of 14 previously recorded sites.  All, but six of these sites are situated in the NWT.  Because the inventory was conducted nearly 20 years after construction of the road, there are some archaeological sites within 30 m of developed areas.  In 2002, all sites within 30 m of the winter road or related facilities were revisited and if threatened were subjected to site assessment and/or mitigation or were protected through the erection of markers.  The four sites in the NWT at which markers were erected in 2002 are KiPb-2, KjPa-1, KkNv-9 and LcNs-140.  During the 2003 investigations, all sites located near areas with current winter road activity were revisited to assess their status and markers were installed at an additional site along the winter road - LcNs-133.

View south overlooking Cossack Bay of new site near abandoned   repeater station.

The major objective of the 2004 field reconnaissance was to determine if markers had adequately protected sites. The markers erected at four of these sites consist of standard four-foot (1.2 m) wooden survey stakes that were pounded approximately 30 cm (1 foot) into the ground.  At KiPb-2 the stakes are at some distance from the actual site and are present only on the esker crest since they would be lost in snow cover on lower ground.  At KkNv-9 and LcNs-140, it was necessary to install markers immediately adjacent to the east side of each site because of the proximity of the winter road portages.  For the same reason, it was necessary to install stakes immediately adjacent to the west side of LcNs-133.  At the fifth site, KjPa-1, because of the proximity of a winter road camp (Lockhart Lake Camp), Nuna Logistics arranged to install taller and more permanent metal markers with reflectors. 

In 2004, the stakes were intact at KiPb-2 and KjPa-1 and six needed replacement at KkNv-9.  Six stakes were also damaged at LcNs-140, likely as a result of snow removal activity, and were replaced.  Additional stakes were installed between the original ones at LcNs-140 as added protection.  No disturbance was noted within the protected areas associated with these four sites, but tire tracks were evident on the surface of LcNs-133.  Two stakes at this site were broken and were replaced.  Additional markers were added between the original ones to prevent vehicle traffic from using the site area.  All wooden stakes were sprayed with fluorescent orange paint to make them more visible.

Some of the wooden markers are showing signs of wear although they could last another year or two.  It is recommended that the status of the markers and their ability to provide site protection be reviewed annually.  During this recheck it is recommended that any weakened markers be replaced, loose stakes be re-installed and the tops of all wooden markers be sprayed with orange paint.  No new tools were noted at the sites visited, but additional unworked flakes are evident on the surface of both LcNs-140 and LcNs-133.  No artifacts were collected since the 2004 field investigations were conducted under a Class 1 NWT Archaeologists Permit.

During the June inspection tour, limited archaeological survey was conducted at two abandoned repeater station locations formerly associated with the winter road.  The more southerly location did not contain any archaeological material.  The location on Mackay Lake yielded one new prehistoric archaeological site, a lithic scatter consisting of scattered and concentrated unworked flakes along with at least two tools; all artifacts were left in situ (in place).  The identification of a potential gravel pit on Burnt Island in Gordon Lake prompted an archaeological assessment, which was conducted in August 2004.  In the process both recent and potentially historic mining remains were located.