how to play excavations in hidden city: hidden city object adventure

Queen Street residence (dating from 1860s): Rough cut bluestone foundations and verandah post holes were located on the Queen Street frontage, suggesting an early residence.Jas A Munro & Co Sawmill (around 1913): Fragments of large round stone grinding wheels used to sharpen the sawmill blades.Trading from retail buildings on the corner of Elizabeth and Queen streets in 1869 (currently McDonalds), McEwan and Co sold iron goods to both miners and the rapidly growing Melbourne population. J McEwan and Co Ironmonger (c 1860s): A clear line of timber stumps, most likely associated with a shed from the ironmonger and later hardware chain, were located in the area behind the current Jasper Hotel.Soil samples have been taken and wil be further analysed to establish the age of the creek bed, the historic rate of water flow, and identify any pollens and flora.Įvidence of a creek line beneath the 1913 Therry Street shopfrontsĪs well as the creek line, archaeologists also discovered a number of interesting items linked to previous uses on the site including:

This upper branch of the creek would have likely carried water draining from the north west of the Munro site, under Queen Victoria Market.

The creek is believed to be an upper branch of the historic ‘Williams Creek’, a natural water course that ran under the current Elizabeth Street, through the central city and emptied into the Yarra River. The fill was likely used to cover the creek bed, shoring up the soft ground and creating a level site so that the shops could be constructed in 1913. Under the remains of the 1913 Therry Street shops, excavations revealed evidence of a creek (water line) beneath substantial layers of introduced fill. Munro site, opposite Queen Victoria Market, have unearthed some remarkable evidence of Melbourne’s early landscape and environmental history. Detailed archaeological investigations at the

How to play excavations in hidden city: hidden city object adventure