The Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society is an organization for professionals and the public to meet, embrace archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador, and share ideas for the future.
Mission
To promote an understanding of archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador and protect archaeological resources by fostering research, stewardship, education, and the exchange of ideas and information between professionals and the public.
Code of Ethics
Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society (NLAS) agree to promote the advancement of archaeology by supporting the organization in its aims to stimulate the interest of the general public in archaeology and to discuss and disseminate archaeological information and ideas according to the NLAS’s ethical principles:
Regarding Stewardship and Accountability:
(i) Members acknowledge an archaeological research permit is required by any person carrying out explorations or making excavations on any land (terrestrial or underwater) for the purpose of seeking archaeological objects. Members have a duty to encourage and support the permitted identification, recording, protection, and effective management of archaeological materials, collections, and established or suspected archaeological sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. Members shall respect the rights of landowners, tenants, lessees, and archaeological permit holders.
Regarding the Value of Archaeological Objects:
(ii) Members shall respect the archaeological objects of all societies and acknowledge the scientific, educational, and cultural significance that such irreplaceable resources hold for all people. Members will not support archaeological objects being bought, sold, traded, or bartered as commercial goods, as it is unethical to establish a commercial value on any archaeological site or object that may lead to its destruction, dispersal, or exploitation.
Regarding the Law:
(iii) Members will act in accordance with the applicable Provincial, Federal, and Aboriginal heritage legislation*, and encourage non-members to do the same. It is illegal to disturb, collect, or remove archaeological objects through survey or excavation without obtaining an archaeology permit. In the spirit of these legislations, a Member agrees to make any archaeological finds (terrestrial and underwater) in his or her possession available for analysis and study by permit-eligible archaeologists.
*Links to legislation regarding archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador:
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Government of Canada
Nunatsiavut Government
Our Board of Directors
Robyn S. Lacy – Past-President
Anna Sparrow – President
Otis Crandell – Vice-President
Ian Petty – Treasurer
Elsa Simms – Secretary
Rita Ujunwa Onah – Director
Megan Webb – Director
Leah Griffiths – Director
Euan Patrick Wallace – Director
Contact:
nlasarchsociety@gmail.com
Newfoundland And Labrador Archaeological Society 
I just read an article on CBC regarding the Community Collections Archaeological Research Project: Baxter Andrews Collection so I decided to visit your website. I have to say, the idea of reaching out to the public in search or collected items is a good one; I know there are many, many items out there that people have found and just waiting to be re-discovered.
What I am emailing about though is actually this website itself. You will have people who read the same article as I did, have an item, as I do, and yet there is absolutely no information or means via this website to submit this information. It was very disappointing, after reading the article on CBC and realizing how important such items are, that there is so little information on this site on how to actually donate a piece. The very first thing you see when visiting your website is a button to donate via Paypal….so what exactly is more important, the artifacts themselves, or monetary donations? I do realize it takes money to run any sort of organization, voluntary or not, but without the artifacts you seek, you won’t need the money.
I personally have a Maritime Archaic Indian gouge which I discovered maybe 30 years ago now and has been sitting in my house ever since. How many other items are out there like this? If you really want to find out, I would just make a suggestion and change this site to allow people to easily identify what they have, a link or some sort of means to let you know this information and promote it a bit better than it has been.
Thank you for your feedback. We will clarify what to do if you have found an artifact on the website. We would ask that you contact the Provincial Archaeology Office with news of your discovery (http://www.btcrd.gov.nl.ca/pao/). As an all-volunteer organization, we’re working on our website as time and resources permit. Thanks so much for your comments!
Amanda Crompton
President of the NLAS
And thanks once again to Mike– your comments have resulted in a new section of this webpage: https://nlarchsociety.ca/reporting-accidental-discoveries/. Thanks for sharing our thoughts on our website, Mike, and we hope that you to report the Maritime Archaic gouge that you found to the Provincial Archaeology Office!
Hi my name is Jacques Normandeau and I was just wondering if any Viking vessels or swords or bone have ever been recovered from digs thank you