17th-Century Palisade Uncovered in Quebec City

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA—According to CBC News, renovations of a building on Sainte-Ursule Street in Quebec City have revealed wooden fortifications thought to have been designed by French military engineer Josué Dubois Berthelot de Beaucours and constructed in 1693 to protect the colony of New France after the Battle of Quebec in 1690. The remains of the stockade, preserved in clay and water, stretch about 65 feet in length. Archaeologist Jean-Yves Pintal said the structure, built to withstand heavy artillery and cannon balls, at one time stood nearly 13 feet tall, and was anchored in a trench filled with sand. In 1745, under a growing threat of British invasion, the wooden palisade was replaced with stone walls. For more on archaeology in the area, go to “Off the Grid: Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal.”