Military fort under Nova Scotia oil facility should be excavated, archeologist says

Fort Clarence, a military fort built more than 250 years ago, could be a "beautiful destination" for visitors to Dartmouth, N.S., a local archeologist says, except for one hitch — it's completely buried underground.

The "very large" fortification, established by the British in 1754 and rebuilt with stone in the 1860s, was covered with dirt and capped in the 1940s, David Jones told the CBC's Information Morning, in order for an oil refinery to be built on top. 

Jones wants the fort to be excavated.

But the company that owns the land and runs the facility on the site says that's not part of the plan. At least, not yet.

Exxon Mobil Corporation announced the closure of the Imperial Oil refinery on the site in 2013, saying it was converting the facility into an oil storage depot. 

Jones said that's a missed opportunity.

"There's a very good chance that most of Fort Clarence is intact underneath the oil refinery today," he said, especially given that the structure wasn't dismantled before the area was infilled.

Jon Harding, spokesperson for Imperial Oil, said the company has no plan at this point to excavate Fort Clarence, but he said the company is "open to dialogue" on the subject.

In the meantime, he said, it's important to remember that the site is still in use, as a means to supply the market with refined oil products.

Jones said he wants the province to honour the Special Places Protection Act and plan an excavation at the site. 

He said the fort could become a tourist draw for Dartmouth. "I think it would make a really nice, complementary feature to Citadel Hill," Jones said.

This is a "unique opportunity" to "make something really cool," he added.

Gary Andrea, spokesperson for the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, said they would need more details to speak about the feasibility of the idea. 

"The decommissioning of the Imperial Oil refinery does present an opportunity to further explore what archeological resources still remain at the site," Andrea said.

"The first step in this process would be for an archeologist to carry out desktop archival research on the history of the refinery property and then initiate the first stages in field reconnaissance," he said.

There is a plaque on the site that marks the location of the old fort, Jones said, but a lot of people miss it. The news that a whole fort is buried underground "does surprise a lot of people," he said.

Jones, whose father and great uncle worked at the refinery, said he has heard stories over the years of employees finding pieces of the fort as they worked at the site.