Archaeological burial site.
Details of Site Location: Memorial Park, on the east side of Bellamy Road north of Lawrence Avenue between Markham Road and McCowan Avenue.
PDM: Borden # AkGt 5, easting 4,210, northing 4,650.
Current Use of Property: Parkland.
Historical Description: The site contains two ossuaries or burial pits. One is 13.5′ in circumference and 30″ deep. The second is 9′ in circumference and 18″ deep Both are re-burial sites used during the Feast of the Dead recorded by early missionaries and explorers. Both pits are of Woodland Iroquoian cultures. In the reburials, the Indians would take the remains of those who had died earlier and been left on scaffolds to decompose, carefully clean the bones, and lay them in the pit with appropriate artefacts for the journey to the next world. The pit was usually lined and covered with furs. The ceremonies of the Feast of the Dead were lengthy and elaborate. In these pits 475 individuals were laid, mostly re-burials, with some signs of cremation among them. In 1956 Walter Kenyon of the Royal Ontario Museum excavated the pits. The absence of grave goods indicates the Iroquois tradition. Late in the 20th century, the bones were re-interred in a special ceremony under the auspices of the City of Scarborough and the direction of First Nations representatives.
Relative Importance: As this was a burial ground and falls under special legislation for First Nations burial areas, the whole area should be flagged as one of particular signifi-cance. The spirits of the dead should be safeguarded and commemorated in consultation with the First Nations. The area should remain intact and fully protected. No further archaeology at this site is necessary.
Reference Sources: Victor A. Konrad, The Archaeological Resources of the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Area: Inventory and Prospect (Department of Geography, York University, Discussion Paper Series #10, 1973); Robert R. Bonis, A History of Scarborough (1968).
Acknowledgements: Ontario Archaeological Society, Toronto Branch; Maps Project; Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch, Cemeteries Project; Markham Historical Society; Native Canadian Centre; Province of Ontario Archaeological Database.