Anthracite (mineral coal): Bright mineral coal, very dense, with a high carbon and low ash content. Generally used as heating fuel in home fireplaces.

 

Artifact: Cultural object produced and fashioned by human hands; as opposed to fossils, which occur naturally. An artifact is archaeological property as defined in the Cultural Properties Act.

 

Borden code: A coding system for sites, proposed in 1952 by Charles E. Borden, for all archaeological sites in Canada. The system uses a code to classify sites according to their geographic position, latitude and longitude. The whole of this archaeological site is designated by Borden code BjFj-101; this also takes in the neighbouring building at 211 de la Commune Street.

 

Clinker: A stony residue from burnt coal.

 

Cooper: Someone who makes or repairs barrels as a trade.

 

Cooper's shop: A shop selling all the items made by a cooper.

 

Creamware: Fine cream-coloured earthenware, developed in England and sold in Montréal around 1780. It was followed by pearlware.

 

Ecofact: Organic remains found associated with human occupations on archaeological sites (animal bones, wood and charcoal, seeds, etc.).

 

Fill: An earthmoving operation in which earth is used to raise the level of the ground or fill in a hole; the earth used for this purpose.

 

Ironwork (ironworkers): An establishment, workshop or store that makes or sells decorative or practical iron items.

 

Lime pit: Lime, mixed with sand and water, was used to make mortar for construction. Masons would mix the ingredients in a small pit right on a building site.

 

Mortar: A mixture of sand, water and lime or cement, used to bond building elements or cover stones.

 

Palisade: A barrier or fence made of a row of pales (stakes) or boards.

 

Pearlware: Fine white earthenware developed in England and sold in Canada after 1780.

 

Privies: Outhouses.

 

Stratigraphy: The succession of layers of sedimentary deposits on a site. By studying a stratigraphy, archaeologists can determine the relative chronology of the layers. Usually, the layers closer to the surface are more recent and those farther down are older.