'A
heavy machine being used to make an initial excavation on the Little Lonsdale Street
site.'© Copyright Andey Films, Melbourne. (Permission to reproduce applied for)
'A
heavy machine being used to make an initial excavation on the Little Lonsdale Street
site.'
© Copyright Andey Films, Melbourne. (Permission to reproduce applied for)
Between 1987 and 1989 a city block within the Central Activities District of the City of Melbourne was explored by archaeologists. The project was the first in Australia to explore and record such a large-scale urban site. The study area is bounded by Little Lonsdale, Lonsdale, Spring and Exhibition streets. Nearly 6000 square metres were excavated to an average depth of half a metre, and a large number of artefacts were recovered. These artefacts, now known as the 'Little Lonsdale Street archaeological collection', are held by Museum Victoria.[The collection in the Museum of Victoria's Social History Department.]
The investigation was commissioned by the Federal Department of Administrative Services and Telecom Australia, before the construction on the site of the Commonwealth and Telecom Towers in 1989-91. The dig was assisted by other Commonwealth and by Victorian government departments, including Australian Construction Services and the Victorian Archaeological Survey. Many members of the public and archaeology students volunteered their time on the site. The dig was directed by Justin McCarthy. [hot link to the reference to Justin McCarthy's report in the bibliography.]
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