Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 2

An Archaeological Study of Clay Pipes from the King's Bastion, Fortress of Louisbourg

by Iain C. Walker

Part II Casemates 10-15 Right

As noted in Part I, a change in policy regarding the number of casemates to be built in the King's Bastion resulted in Casemates 10-15 Right, in the right face of the bastion (Fig. 3), being left in an unfinished state for a number of years. Eventually it was decided not to proceed with the construction of these casemates, and about 1732 they were filled and became part of the body of the rampart (Fig. 37). However, during the period 1720-32, at least some of these casemates were temporarily roofed and incidentally used as repositories for rubbish. The artifact evidence suggests Casemates 13, 14 and 15 were used for this purpose. The occupation layers in these three casemates (one in each) yielded 1,211 (approximately 95 per cent) of the 1,263 fragments with measurable bore diameters found in all six casemates, and it is on the pipe material of these occupation layers that this study is based.

34 Remains of wooden floor, looking NW.

Casemates 10 Right to 15 Right were designated 4T to 4Y, respectively; 4F was used to designate an earlier excavation which included part of Casemate 14 Right.