This text is part of the special section 100 years of Acfas
On May 17, 1992, when the Pointe-à-Callière museum was officially inaugurated, we were not only commemorating the 350e Montreal’s birthday. This foundation, with complex challenges, above all marked the beginning of an adventure at the crossroads of time, space and disciplines, as well as a whole new way of telling the story. The history of Montreal, but also our collective history.
In the 1980s, unlike many other cities in the world, urban historical archeology was only in its infancy in Quebec. Until then, only historians, whose research was based on books and archival documents, had the possibility of understanding and interpreting the history of Montreal. However, after a potential study carried out by the City, a series of excavations on Place Royale, in Old Montreal, changed perceptions. Louise Pothier, now curator and chief archaeologist of the Pointe-à-Callière museum, was one of those pioneers.
“We suspected that Place Royale, which was Montreal’s first ‘downtown’ and which hosted its first market, harbored traces of human presence,” she said. But we were blown away by what we uncovered over the layers of terrain we unearthed. »
Pieces of ceramics dating from the English occupation, 18th century stone fortificationse century, wooden palisade of the XVIIe…and even fireplace bases over 1000 years old! “We understood that Montreal was in fact a tangle of constructions, destructions and reconstructions, indicates the archaeologist. But even more, that the particularity of Montreal was its multidimensional history. It has always represented a geographical, commercial, cultural and human crossroads. What it still represents today, by the way. »
The creation of a living museum
In light of these discoveries, the idea of creating a museum paying homage to Montreal’s rich archaeological history germinated in people’s minds. But it is “thanks to the sensitive and enlightened approach of Francine Lelièvre”, founder who still directs the mworn Pointe-à-Callière, that the very site of the excavations has become a museum in situthat is to say a place from which discoveries are not removed to be shown elsewhere, but where they are presented as they are, on site, to visitors.
“Discovering concretely the historical fabric of a city through well-preserved remains from several eras in one and the same place, it was quite unique, since most museums in situ elsewhere only highlight a part of the past, such as the Gallo-Roman era, for example,” explains Louise Pothier.
What fascinates the expert the most, however, is that this vision has also been the driving force behind constant work that has since greatly advanced knowledge. “A site museum, she says, is alive, it has no end. Over the course of the excavations, we acquire new knowledge, and we master new technologies that make us discover others. We are therefore always reviewing what we thought acquired and we are rewriting new pages of history. It’s crazy, the number of details that we can accumulate on a thing that we did not know 10 years ago! »
Mme Pothier knows what she is talking about, since it is in this way that excavation sites, such as those of the former Sainte-Anne market and the Parliament, neighboring the Place Royale, have shown their historical richness. The old fort of Ville-Marie is also in the process of revealing its secrets thanks to paleo-DNA and RNA analyzes carried out on its soil by researchers in the natural sciences from UQAM.
The Pointe-à-Callière museum has also been a driving force for scientific advancement on several occasions. “For example, the museum has advanced our knowledge of the Iroquoians of the St. Lawrence,” says the archaeologist. While since 1992, research seemed to stagnate, the fact of having plunged back into this file with experts in view of a temporary exhibition presented in 2006 allowed us to make a great leap forward. »
Turning an object into a story
The history of an object can be fascinating for specialists, but much more arid for the general public. The second flash of genius of the founder of the Pointe-à-Callière museum was therefore to seat historians, archaeologists, museographers, engineers and architects at the same table, which was still unheard of in the early 1990s. Their mission: to transform the concept of classic, often rectangular and dimensionless exhibition halls into a unique experience.
“It was clear from the start that we would not replace university research centres,” explains Louise Pothier. But we were able to work and dialogue with them, to then interpret, develop a narrative and script sections of knowledge using multimedia technologies, integrating texts, visual tools or virtual characters interacting with visitors. A real show whose educational objective was not to pass an exam at the end of the visit, but rather to give pleasure and make people happy to learn things they did not know.
Obviously, making our archaeological treasures in Montreal speak — for example, a shard of porcelain, a piece of wall or an arrowhead — is more thankless than the same action with a pyramid or a piece of gold jewelry. The museum has therefore developed communication strategies to transform each artefact into an adventure.
“Elsewhere, we talked about the object itself: its style, its decoration, its function. We have gone further, considering each object as polysemic. We can then make him say a lot of things, ”says the expert. Suddenly, a shard of Chinese-style porcelain dating from the British era could thus become the symbol of commercial exchanges, as well as human and cultural encounters. “Our multidisciplinary approach was very avant-garde for the time,” adds the archaeologist. People from all over the world came to see the new concept we had created! »
Over the years, the Pointe-à-Callière museum has managed to surprise, nourish and amaze. First with the history of Montreal itself, then with that of Montrealers of all origins to whom the establishment pays homage through various temporary exhibitions devoted to civilizations from around the world.