[2] The parking lot expansion and mortar range activity near the end of the war subsequently decapitated the deposit and left only a small portion of the ancient site to be investigated.

MacNeish, who then served as the chief archaeologist at the National Museum of Canada, recorded the location of the site for further investigation after examining some of the specimens.

Eaton would later sell his collection of specimens from multiple sites in eastern Canada to a collector from Kentville, Nova Scotia named W.A.

In late autumn of 1989, employees at the Department of Lands and Forests Tree Breeding Center in Debert noticed that their stumping operations could have been disturbing archaeological remains.

Archaeologists from the Nova Scotia Museum and Saint Mary’s University checked the area following the concerns expressed about possible disturbance.

Further excavations directed by Dr. Stephen Davis of Saint Mary’s University were performed at the new Belmont sites in 1990, where an undisturbed living floor was uncovered along with over 700 artifacts.

Excavations recovered 4500 artifacts over 22 acres of land and found channel flutes that were consistent with the characteristics of hafted tools present on many Paleo-Indian sites.

Due to the decomposition of organic materials, stone artifacts that have survived over many decades are recognized as the most frequently documented forms of evidence at the Debert site.

[3] Archaeologists have hypothesized that these early settlers were nomadic big game hunters who relied on migrating herds of caribou for survival.

To survive the freezing cold climatic conditions, the early settlers likely wore tailored clothing and constructed skin covered tents with wooden frames for shelter.