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Workers discover remains of an ancient indigenous cemetery in Toronto

Workers discover remains of an ancient indigenous cemetery in Toronto

By Omayma othmani

Published: January 8, 2024

The City of Toronto said one of its construction crews discovered “ancient” human remains in an Indigenous cemetery on Friday.

Police said in a press release that the crew working on a main water pipe on Wythro Street, in the Riverdale neighborhood, located east of downtown Toronto, contacted the police after the remains were found.

Toronto police spokesperson Laura Brabant said the remains were found shortly after noon on Friday, and police and an anthropologist responded to the discovery.

Brabant also said in an emailed statement that the anthropologist visited the site and indicated the remains came from an old cemetery bearing Indigenous markings in that area.

The area is known to be an archaeological site since at least 1886, when construction crews on Wythro Street reportedly found mass graves in the area.

Wythro Public School now also occupies the site of old Indigenous camps where a spear point dating back about 7,000 years was found, according to the city's report on the area.

Toronto is located on the lands of the Mississauga of the First Nations, Anishinaabe, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat.

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