Museum of Ontario Archaeology

The Museum of Ontario Archaeology is an archaeology museum located in northwest London, Ontario, Canada, dedicated to the study and public interpretation of over 11,000 years of human history in Ontario. Founded in 1933, it is an Affiliated Research Institute of The University of Western Ontario. The museum sits adjacent to a reconstruction of the Lawson Site, a 16th-century pre-contact Attawandaron (Neutral Iroquoian) village, and houses more than two million artifacts recovered from archaeological sites throughout the province. Its significance lies in its dual role as both a public museum and a research institution, combining extensive collections with active fieldwork, educational programming, and the unique opportunity for visitors to explore a reconstructed pre-contact Indigenous village.

The museum originated from the private artifact collection of Amos Jury and his son Wilfrid, which began informally in 1923 with 45 objects purchased from farmers who had plowed them up. In 1927, the Jurys were invited to display their collection at The University of Western Ontario, and in 1933, space was formally set aside for it in the Lawson Memorial Library through the initiative of Ray Lawson, who owned the Lawson Indian village site and later became Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Museum of Indian Archaeology and Pioneer Life was established with Amos Jury as honorary curator and Wilfrid Jury as curator, though Wilfrid's position remained unpaid until 1945, when he received an annual honorarium of 2,000 dollars, making him one of few paid archaeologists in Canada at the time. The museum remained in the Lawson Library from 1934 to 1960, then moved to Middlesex College. In 1969, Wilfrid Jury encouraged Colonel Tom Lawson and members of the Fuller family to donate the land containing the Lawson Site to the university. Planning for a dedicated building began in 1973, led by David Chambers and William D. Finlayson, who became director in 1976. The museum was officially renamed The Museum of Indian Archaeology (London) in 1978, and construction of the current Lawson-Jury Building began in autumn 1980, with Wilfrid Jury, then 90 years old, turning the first sod. The building was completed in 1981. An archaeological assessment prior to construction revealed the Spook Hollow site, a 4,000-year-old campsite, demonstrating that the museum occupies two distinct archaeological sites.

The museum's collection encompasses over two million artifacts recovered from archaeological sites throughout Ontario, spanning more than 11,000 years of human occupation in the province. The holdings include extensive materials from major excavations conducted by museum staff and affiliated researchers, including the Keffer Site near Toronto, Crawford Lake, sites in the city of London, and large-scale work at Toronto International Airport where the Draper and White sites were excavated. The Draper site, a 3.5-hectare Huron village excavated in 1975 and 1978, revealed a settlement that grew from 450 to approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The collection also incorporates materials from Christian Island Indian Reserve in Georgian Bay. Beyond artifacts, the museum maintains laboratory space for artifact analysis and an extensive library of archaeological books and manuscripts. The institution supports research and education through its affiliation with the University of Western Ontario's Department of Anthropology, which runs an annual field school at the Lawson Site.

The museum's most significant holding is the original Jury collection, the foundational assemblage that launched the institution. The collection is distinguished by its size, exceeding two million objects, and its geographic breadth across Ontario. Particular emphasis falls on materials from the Lawson Site itself, where over 500,000 artifacts have been recovered, and from the Draper Site, one of the most extensively documented Huron villages in the province. The museum's publications include the quarterly Educator Update, launched in 2009, and the newsletter The Palisade E-Post, begun in December 2008, which disseminate research findings and educational materials. The reconstructed Lawson village, while not an artifact in the conventional sense, represents a unique interpretive holding that allows visitors to experience a 16th-century Neutral Iroquoian settlement with its palisade walls and longhouses.

The museum occupies the Lawson-Jury Building, designed by local architect Wilfrid B. Lamb and completed in 1981. The architecture was conceived to evoke an Iroquoian village, with the structure dug deeply into the earth to reflect the character of the archaeological site it overlooks. The building houses permanent and temporary gallery space, a theatre, a classroom, and children's activity space. The museum sits on Attawandaron Road in northwest London, Ontario. The surrounding site encompasses two archaeological locations: the Lawson Site, a 16th-century Neutral Iroquoian village with remains of at least 39 longhouses, numerous middens and pits, and defensive palisade walls and earthworks; and the Spook Hollow site, a 4,000-year-old campsite discovered during pre-construction assessment. The Lawson Site was the first archaeological site in Ontario to be placed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, receiving this designation in 2004. In July 2007, reconstruction of a longhouse and palisades began, adding to the interpretive landscape. Adjacent to the museum, Sustainable Archaeology: Western was constructed in 2011, a collaborative research facility between the University of Western Ontario and McMaster University.

The Museum of Ontario Archaeology is located at 1600 Attawandaron Road in London, Ontario, Canada. It operates as an Affiliated Research Institute of The University of Western Ontario and maintains affiliations with the Canadian Museums Association, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the Virtual Museum of Canada. The museum offers public access to its galleries, theatre, and educational spaces, along with guided tours of the reconstructed Lawson village. Four annual events anchor its public programming: the Annual Harvest Festival and Pow Wow in September, an Art & Craft Sale featuring traditional First Nation vendors in late November, the Snowsnake or Winter Festival on Family Day in February, and Wilfrid Jury Archaeology Day in late July. The museum's combination of indoor exhibition spaces and outdoor archaeological reconstruction provides visitors with both artifact-based and experiential engagement with Ontario's deep human history.