The Most Haunting of Former Villages

Southwold Earthworks, site of an Attawandaron village ca. AD 1450-1550.

One of the eeriest places in Elgin County is the so-called Southwold Earthworks, the remains of a fortified Attawandaron* village of about 800 or 900 people inhabited ca. 1450 to 1550. Located at 7930 Iona Road near Fingal, the spot has been a National Historic Site since 1923. 

The Attawandaron, an Iroquoian-speaking people French explorers called the Neutrals, built a cluster of 18 or more longhouses here of various sizes. The longhouses were multi-unit dwellings housing extended families related by a common maternal ancestor. Archaeologists have determined this in two excavations, the first in 1935 and the second, more scientific investigation, in 1976. The latter dig was performed by London's Museum of Indian Archaeology as the Museum of Ontario Archaeology was then called.

The village was surrounded by a double row of low earth mounds, foundations for a double ring of upright pickets or palisades. The first palisade might have been built earlier, the site being strengthened by a second wall for improved defenses later. 

It's unusual for an Attawandaron village to be located on a flat plain with no defensive advantages. There's also no archaeological evidence that the site was ever attacked. Tradition within the local Oneida community suggests that this was really a ceremonial site, only enclosed by a palisade so that activities taking place in the village would not be visible to people outside. The site might have been a seasonal place of pilgrimage, not a year-round village.

My thoughts: 1) Just because there was no attack does not mean the inhabitants did not live in fear of one. 2) A double palisade seems like overkill for a ceremonial site. 3) Some members of the Indigenous community may prefer to interpret their ancestors' behaviour as uniformly peaceful and spiritual, instead of warlike and aggressive. Despite opinions to the contrary, I still suspect the inhabitants of this village lived in fear of their neighbours. 

Regardless of the site's controversy, it's still a nice place to take a picnic and walk your dog. There are also several interpretive plaques describing the lifeways of the long-ago inhabitants. There's no admission charge since it's basically a park. But bear in  mind the Earthworks are a long walk from the road, so this isn't a site for the physically challenged. And it might be a bit creepy if you're alone. 

It's also not a site for people who can't picture in their minds the sizable village that once stood here. It's an archaeological site, folks. If you wish to see an actual recreation of a village, visit Ska-Nah-Doht or the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. 

But if you have a powerful imagination and you close your eyes in this quiet spot, you can easily visualize the men, women, and children who worked and played in the longhouses.  

* I've chosen to spell the word like Attawandron Road, location of London, Ontario's Museum of Ontario Archaeology. You may also see it spelled Attiwandaron, Attiwandaronk, and Attarawandon.