879 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 50 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 80 cm BS. Crushed and fragmented shell was observed, some of the shell being thermally altered (Plate 10). A few small fish bones were also observed. Profile GH 4 showed evidence of a 4 cm thick lens of shell midden at 38 cm BS and was comprised of crushed and broken clam and thermally altered mussel shell in a black brown loam matrix. It is assumed that much of the cultural deposit at this location has succumbed to natural erosion and storm surges. Plate 10. Profile Point KK3, showing lens of shell midden at 80 cm BS. Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 880 FIGURE 5: Shovel Test Location 1, DcSb-2 0 6m3 LOCATION: NTSMAP: CLIENT: MAPDATE: DRAWNBY: HCAPERMIT: Scale 1:400 Sombrio, BC 92C/9 BC Parks October 21, 2013 G.Hill 2013.0263 404250 404300 404350 404400 LEGEND N Pit Toilet Clearing for Sombrio East Pit Toilet Positive shovel test Shoreline Negative shovel test Shovel Test Location 1 Boundary Positive shoreline prole DcSb-2 Revised Site Boundary Negative shoreline prole Small Creek G4 K5 G2 K1 5372000 G5 5372000 K2 G1 G3 K6 K3 KK4 GH5 K4 KK3 GH4 KK2 KK1 GH1 GH2 GH3 5371950 5371950 404250 404300 404350 404400 881 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 52 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 6.2.2 Shovel Test Location 2 At STL 2, 40 shovel tests and eight auger tests were excavated in order to identify the horizontal and vertical boundaries of DcSb-1 (Figure 6). Fourteen shovel tests and two auger tests yielded positive results, and indicated that midden deposits ranged from 27 cm to 120 cm BS with an average thickness of 66.8 cm. In general, the upper level of the midden deposit was disturbed and characterized by dark brown rich organic silt-loam with fine grained sand and a significant amount of historic material and garbage encountered to an average depth of 35 cm below surface. In some places this upper disturbed deposit sat upon intact cultural deposit comprised of dark brown loam, and in others it sat directly on top of a greasy black-brown loam with crushed, fragmented, and whole shell (Plate 11), with an abundance of fish bone and urchin remains. The cultural deposits consistently rested upon non-cultural coarse yellowish beach sand. Plate 11. Shovel Test Location 2, Shovel Test G7, at the northwest end of DcSb-1 Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 882 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 53 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 A series of shovel tests were excavated from the beach in front of the midden berm, extending northeast to the marsh behind the berm in order to develop a profile of the midden deposit (from southwest to northeast: K3, K2, K1, G1, G4, G5, G2, G3, and auger tests G1 and G2, pictured in Plate 12 and illustrated in Figure 7). The berm profile illustrates how the midden deposit would have built up behind the village houses lining the beach. The berm reaches a maximum height of 1.61 m above the berm base and drops to 0.87 m above the berm base for the height of the wetland behind the berm. This indicates that the wetland is anthropogenic in origin as water draining downslope behind DcSb-1 would have pooled behind the berm and thus creating the wetland. Plate 12. Looking northeast at line of shovel tests excavated to profile midden berm. Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 883 FIGURE 6: Shovel Test Location 2, DcSb-1 Scale 1:800 LOCATION: NTSMAP: CLIENT: MAPDATE: DRAWNBY: HCAPERMIT: 0 10 20 30 40m Sombrio, BC 92C/9 BC Parks October 21, 2013 G.Hill 2013.0263 403800 403850 403900 403950 404000 404050 404100 N Soil Test Area (STL 3) 5372700 5372700 A4 l i K22 a r T A5 o i r b m A6 o S l a r G10 t n e C G9 Campsite Access K21 K20 Proposed K5 K6 5372650 5372650 K23 PM3 K4 K19 K27 K16 K26 PM2 K18 Portion K25 G8 PM1 1 K17 G7 A3 A1 A2 G6 to K15 2 K24 be AG1 AG2 decomissioned G3 G2 G5 G4 G1 K1 K2 K3 5372600 5372600 LEGEND K10 K11 K7 Evaluative Unit Low Wet Area K14 K12 K9 Positive shovel test Shoreline K13 K8 Negative shovel test Shovel Test Location 2 Positive auger test DcSb-1 Revised Site Boundary Negative auger test Small Creek 5372550 5372550 403800 403850 403900 403950 404000 404050 404100 884 FIGURE 7: Berm Profile LOCATION: NTSMAP: CLIENT: MAPDATE: DRAWNBY: HCAPERMIT: Juan de Fuca Provincial Park 92C/9 B C P a rks February 11, 2014 G.Hill 201 3 - 026 3 N Beach Wetland Shovel Tests K3 K2 K1 G1 G4 G5 G2 LEGEND Cultural deposits Unexcavated Soils Scale 1.26 cm = 1 m 0 1 m Sterile deposits Wetland 885 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 56 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 Shovel tests were also focused along both sides of the existing pathway leading from the Central Sombrio Trail to the beach front as this area will be impacted by higher foot traffic once the trail to the southeast is decommissioned, as well as the proposed location of the information kiosk, signs, food caches and pit toilet. Shovel tests K17 and K25, and EU 1 are closest positive tests to the trail, lying on the trail’s southeast side and representing the northwest site boundary of DcSb-1. Shovel tests on the west side of the trail (specifically K16, K18, K23, and K27) were all negative, and testing at the proposed kiosk, signs, food cache and pit toilet (specifically K4, K5, and K6) also produced negative results, as well as a number of tests between. These negative non-cultural test were largely comprised of brown sand and clay (Plate 13) Plate 13. Shovel Test Location 2, Shovel Test PM1, example of negative tests. Particular attention was given to the wet area behind the midden berm, as there was a possibility of encountering water saturated cultural deposits. Four shovel tests (G2, G3, G4, and G5) and four auger tests (G1, G2, A2, and A3) were placed in the wet area. Of those tests, only two shovel tests (G4 and G2) and one auger test (A2) yielded positive results. All of the cultural components were above the water table and comprised of greasy organic loam with shell and faunal present. Negative tests typically contained organic rich silty clays, overlying a sandy basal deposit. Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 886 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 57 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 6.2.3 Shovel Test Location 3 STL 3, just southeast of the mouth of the Sombrio River, was the site of two soil tests (Plate 14). Sand and rounded cobbles were visible on the surface in many areas of this location, and poor soil development was confirmed by the two soil tests and an examination of the beachward scarp. They both showed evidence of duff atop coarse sand deposits with river-worn cobbles and pebbles (Plate 15). No cultural material was encountered at this location. Plate 14. Looking east STL 3 soil test location, showing gravel flood plain. Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 887 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 58 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 Plate 15. Looking at the bank deposits in the area of Shovel Test Location 3. 6.2.4 Shovel Test Location 4 STL 4 was the site of two soil tests. This area showed poor soil development, with an average of 40 cm of litter mat on top of beach sand with river-worn cobbles. This soil profile was confirmed by an examination of the river- and beach-ward scarps (Plate 16). No cultural material was encountered at this location. Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd. 888 Ministry of Environment – Mr. Kirby Villeneuve Page 59 Archaeological Impact Assessment of Sombrio Beach February 19, 2014 Plate 16. Looking at the deposits in the area of Shovel Test Location 4. 6.3 Evaluative Unit Results Two evaluative units (EUs) were excavated within the site boundaries of DcSb-1 in order to determine depth, integrity, and nature of the cultural deposits. The initial AIA plans only allowed for one EU, but given the high cultural and scientific value of the site, the excavation of another EU was generously permitted by MoE. For a detailed description of stratigraphy, please refer to Appendix B. 6.3.1 Evaluative Unit 1 EU 1 was located immediately southwest of the proposed campsite access trail (Plate 17). The EU was excavated to a depth of 47 cm below surface in arbitrary 10 cm layers after the first 17 cm of disturbed material was removed. The upper 17 cm deposit was a black-brown loam with 20% coarse sand, 15% rounded FCR, 15 to 20% sub-rounded to sub-angular pebbles and gravel, rootlets, with trace shell and frequent historic and modern material. Level 2 (17 to 27 cm BS) was characterized by greasy black-brown loam with 20% coarse sand, 35 to 40% crushed, fragmented and whole shell (predominantly California mussel, chiton, limpet, and a few clam), high amounts of fish bone, and large amounts of green and purple urchin spines and body fragments. One worked Sea Lion upper canine was recovered from this level, but its Dossier 13.0139 environmental services ltd.