Baker Lake (Oct 06/03) - An ancient burial site near Baker Lake is stirring up conversation and speculation in the community.

Renewable Resources officer Joe Niego came across the burial site at South Channel, about 72 kilometres east of Baker.

Niego says there appears to be three adult graves at the site and a strange box held tightly shut by a large padlock.

He says the graves are definitely not Inuit. "There are a number of things about the burial site that tell me the graves are not Inuit," says Niego.

"You never see padlocks on Inuit graves.

"It's possible these graves are the result of a ship that sunk here many years ago, or, maybe, some people who didn't survive an expedition of some sort." Niego says even the rocks the sites are constructed with aren't the same Inuit would use to bury their dead. He says Inuit also bury their dead up high, where they will be kept dry and away from the water. The graves at the South Channel site are down very low and, in the spring, are covered with water. "When I look at the padlock, I think you're probably talking somewhere in the 1800s.

"When you see the old, old sailing ships, they had those same big old padlocks with the big centre keyhole."

Niego says his curiosity almost got the best of him and he was quite tempted to bust open the box. In the end, however, he decided to leave it be.

"There's another area where we had a cargo ship sink in the late '50s or early '60s, but this site looks as old as the hills.

"I really don't want to speculate, but it's possible it could be from an expedition, or maybe the early traders who used to come here."

Niego says the burial site is well off the beaten path and almost invisible to anyone looking up from the beach.

"It just looks like a bunch of rocks and Inuit don't bury their dead like that."

Niego says the Nunavut government should have the site checked out.

"They should do some DNA, or whatever tests they need, to see exactly how old they are.

"Through their testing and talking with our elders, maybe they can figure out who they were. "You never know what mystery could be solved."