Please take note: The Provincial Parks coin program will be coming to a close at the end of 2019. It was a great program but it has run its course, and it is time to look at something new. Passports will be accepted until the end of the year, If there is an issue with a cache please communicate by sending a message on the cache page. The address has changed to send in the passports, please use this address:
Nova Scotia Dept. of Lands and Forestry
15 Arlington Place, Suite 7
Truro, Nova Scotia
B2N 0G9
Located within Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is a very special kind of archaeological site; a site of shell middens.
The E'se'get Archaeology Project, E'se'get is the Mi'kmaw word meaning "to dig for clams" and a midden is a communal dump site for domestic waste. Researchers from the Canadian Museum of Civilization have been working with a dozen undergraduate archaeology students from the University of New Brunswick in these ancient shell heaps. The middens in this location, made of clam, mussel and oyster shells were collected and eaten by Mi'kmaq 500 to 2000 years ago.
Working in shell middens can offer some important information because of the calcium carbonate in the shell heaps help preserve organic materials. Bone, antler and other biodegradable materials of cultural significance would normally be dissolved into our Maritime acidic soil. Other artificats like stone tools, pottery, fire hearths and dwelling features found in and around the middens provide and opportunity to learn about the Mi'kmaw way of life along the coastal shores of Mi'kmaki; land of the Mi'kmaq. The E'se'get Archaeology Project is looking to understand the connection between the Mi'kmaq and their marine ecosystem and environment.
This geocache is part of the 2011 NS Provincial Parks Geocaching challenge. To participate in the challenge, you will need to download the associated PASSPORT. At each geocache, there is a punch that you can mark the corresponding box on your passport. Collect all 5 and you can send in your passport to receive a free trackable geocoin.
The Series
The geocaches that are part of the passport program are:
The Passport
You can download the passport fromNS Parks.