Lawson Site

Archaeology, Education and Reconstruction (1976-2011) - The Museum

The 1980s era entrance of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. The original name "Museum of Indian Archaeology" and the "Lawson-Jury Building" appear on the sign above the door.

Museum of Indian Archaeology Entrance -1980s

Breaking Ground

In 1973, it was decided that the Jury collection had outgrown its home at the University of Western Ontario and that the Lawson Site represented an ideal location to establish a permanent home. Dr. William (Bill) Finlayson became executive director and work began on developing the Lawson Site into an interpretative and research hub for Ontario archaeology. The Museum of Indian Archaeology (named in 1978) opened its new location on May 21, 1981. The Museum housed an interpretative gallery, labs, a repository, and a gift shop.

An image of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology's gallery under construction. bare concrete walls and the metal ceiling are visible.

Museum Gallery - In Construction

The original Museum of Ontario Archaeology gallery as it appeared in the 1980s. A panel labelled "Traders and Potters" is mounted beside a display case featuring pottery. The word "Pottery" appears next to the case. An artifact is displayed on a pedestal in the foreground

Museum Gallery - 1980s

Anticipating the Future of Archaeology

By the time Prince Phillip visited in 1983, the Museum had become a hub of emerging technological and methodological innovation in archaeology. Using computers to process archaeological data and completing the first magnetometer survey (1978) of the Lawson Site, the Museum sat at the forefront of archaeological innovation in Ontario.

Since the mid-1970s (beginning with the Draper Site) and under Dr. Finlayson's direction, the Museum had also become a pioneering influence in the field of salvage or rescue archaeology which would later become cultural resource management – essentially the practice of documenting Ontario’s rich archaeological heritage in advance of development activities that otherwise would lead to the loss of that heritage.

The rear of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology under construction. Concrete blocks are arranged along the wall between structural columns. Window spaces are voids into the interior

MIA Labs - In Construction

The south bank of windows at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology in the 1980s. A long row of windows overhung with a a wooden lattice and facing the Medway Valley.

MIA Labs - 1980s