Archaeological Investigations on the Uniacke Estate Hants County NS 1992 (Curatorial Report #74)

Abstract

The information presented in this report represents the preliminary findings of the 1992 archaeological investigations on the Uniacke Estate, Hants County, Nova Scotia, a part of the Nova Scotia Museum since 1960. Richard John Uniacke, Attorney General for Nova Scotia, acquired the 11 ,800-acre property during the period 1786-1821.

The archaeological research component of the Uniacke Estate project was designed to evaluate the physical remains of three general areas: the haha wall, the outbuilding area, and the hothouse. These are all believed to be original features of the estate.

The archaeological investigation met with varying degrees of success. No physical evidence of the outbuilding was found, although the presence of artifacts dating to the first half of the 19th century indicated early activity. The haha wall was located where expected and is in stable condition. The site of the "Upper Hot-house" was also confmned, but it was much larger, more complicated, and contained more artifacts than anticipated. The hothouse site is in unstable condition and must be a priority for future archaeology.