The place of the finds is the Munro site, opposite the Queen Victoria Market, which is being redeveloped into a new community hub. Lord Mayor Sally Capp described the findings as ‘exciting’ adding:
"These artefacts give us an idea of what life was like when Melbourne was a township. We've found bottles, plates and fragments of stone grinding wheels, which will be preserved for future generations."
Extent Heritage was enlisted by developer PDG Corporation to undertake the dig and archaeological works in accordance with Heritage Victoria approvals. Jim Wheeler, of Extent Heritage, said the list of artefacts found dated back to the 1850s and included ceramic tobacco pipes, porcelain plate pieces and a ‘torpedo’ bottle still fully intact.
He added that bottles of many types and shapes buried on the former site of the Mercat Cross Hotel were also uncovered in the thousands, suggesting it had once been used as a commercial dump for bottles in Melbourne’s early history.
The Munro site, which covers an estimated 6,000 square metres, is believed to be among the most extensive archaeological area in the state to have been excavated. Graphic design can be used to showcase the findings of excavations such as this.
Wheeler said the site has provided insights into the city’s industrial and commercial development.