Hall Beach (Aug 21/06) - Pieces of the past were unearthed in Hall Beach last month.

Digging up to 40 centimetres beneath the surface, archeological staff and 10 Nunavut students found knife handles, stone blades, figurines, many types of harpoon heads, toggles for dog teams, pieces of wood, fishing tools, baleen (from whale jaws), and pieces of ivory and bone.

A total of 406 artifacts were removed from 12 one-metre square units over three weeks of digging in the area of one former sod house. The historical fragments belonged to ancestors of the Inuit who lived 300 to 1,000 years ago in what is known as the Thule period.

Student Jessica Pearce, of Iqaluit, said she was eager to participate in the archeological dig because it's a means of finding out how Inuit used to live. It was also a chance to travel and make new friends, she said.

Repulse Bay's Sarah Sivanertok had similar motivations.

"I wanted to go to another community, and I wanted to see artifacts and learn more stuff about our ancestors," she said.

Among the items that Sivanertok found was a piece of ivory with a hole bored through it.

After the dig wrapped up, an open house was held in Hall Beach. Elders were asked if they could identify and explain the original purpose of the antiquities.

The artifacts uncovered this year are being sent to universities in Ontario for further analysis, but ultimately will be returned to Nunavut, said Ericka Chemko, project manager with Inuit Heritage Trust, which co-sponsored the dig with the Government of Nunavut.

The quarry site has changed locations over the past five years, but the focus will remain on Hall Beach over the next two summer seasons to gain a richer understanding of that area, according to Chemko.

The excavation methods won't change, though. The participants dig carefully with trowels - similar to hand-held garden spades - pour the soil into a bucket and then sift it over a screen.

At times, they dug side by side in the rain and fog and endured pesky mosquitoes.

Although Sivanertok and Pearce said they enjoyed the experience, neither is currently planning a career in archeology. Pearce will be attending a two-year photography program in college while Sivanertok is a Grade 11 student.

"It's kind of fun, but I don't think I would apply to an archeology organization," said Sivanertok.