More than two years after work was initially halted due to archaeological findings at the Morton Gravel Pit, located some 11 kilometres south of the Village of Delia in Starland County, a final palaeontological report was received during the regular Wednesday, November 30 council meeting.
A total of five sites over the 40 acre parcel were determined to have heavy concentrations of artifacts following a Historical Resources Impact Assessment carried out by Stantec Consulting in May 2020.
“...the fossils identified during the field visit included a fragmentary mammal tooth preserved in probable Miocene gravels and representing a bovid; the disarticulated skeleton and other remains, including several burrows, of interpreted fossil prairie dogs dating to the Wisconsin interstadial; and a partial fossil insect, probably a fungus beetle, found in possible Holocene organic soils,” the report states.
Along with these fossils, there were also several archaeological finds made by chance while examining the youngest beds exposed in the Morton Pit.
These archaeological finds were reported separately from the palaeontological finds outlined in the report.
Due to the presence of mammalian fossil remains, it was recommended further palaeontological assessments be carried out to examine exposed gravel once the mining phase of the operation is opened up.
Staff are being asked to be aware of the possibility of bones and or teeth being found during operations, and to report any findings.
