Will the grave of Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec, never be found? In anticipation of the 400the On the anniversary of his death in 2035, experts would like to see a more intensive resumption of excavations to identify his grave.
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Carl Lavoie, an independent professional archaeologist, is one of them. He spent years analyzing the various hypotheses about the burial site in Old Quebec of Champlain, who died on Christmas Day 1635.
“It’s still going through my mind. I've been working on it for at least 40 years. I continue to analyze the data,” shares Mr. Lavoie.
Since 1999, no active excavation has been conducted with the specific goal of finding Champlain. At the time, the late amateur geographer and archaeologist René Lévesque was convinced he had found a vault containing Champlain's remains, but this came to nothing.
Location of the chapel
The least we can do, many believe, would be to restore the exact location of the chapel, built in 1636 to house Champlain's remains. In fact, there is a plaque at 9 1/2 Rue de Buade to mark this place, but according to experts it is incorrect. The burial chapel would be somewhere else.
“It is more than controversial, it is supposed to be wrong. We must not forget that this is a memorial plaque that was installed in the 1950s. At that time we believed that the chapel was located there. We never found the chapel, but we are sure that it is not in the place where the memorial plaque suggests it is,” says historian Jean-Marie Lebel.
According to Mr. Lavoie's research, in which the ethnologist Georges Gauthier Larouche was also involved, the chapel would rather be located between Rue du Fort and the post office building.
Research by Carl Lavoie, a professional archaeologist, suggests that Champlain's burial chapel was located under Rue du Fort rather than under Rue de Buade, as a plaque incorrectly suggests. Photo Diane Tremblay
“I am convinced of that. You would have to have a damn good argument to disagree with me on this,” Mr. Lavoie continues.
The chapel was destroyed by fire in 1640, in which several valuable documents were most likely lost.
After the fire, the remains of Champlain and the two companions who shared the same crypt, the Commissioner General of the Society of Cent-Associés, François Derré de Grand, and the Jesuit Father Charles Raimbault, would have been transferred to another location.
Many believe that this plaque on the facade of 9 1/2, Rue de Buade should be removed. Photo Stevens LeBlanc
“After 1640 we no longer know what happened to the vault of Champlain’s tomb. “We lost track,” adds Mr. Lebel.
For his part, Mr. Lavoie sees no other possible location than the Notre-Dame Basilica in Quebec.
Hope remains
By acknowledging the location of the chapel, this would be progress, especially with a view to the year 2035.
“What’s important is to have a real place where we can say: Champlain was buried there. “It would be great to be able to pay homage to Champlain, where he was buried,” Mr. Lavoie added.
Mr. Lebel does not lose hope that one day the famous grave will be found.
“Until archaeologists tell me, 'We'll never find it,' I continue to believe we can find it.” […] “I have not closed the file on Champlain’s grave and will not close it until the archaeologists close it,” Mr. Lebel asserts.
Discovery of Champlain's Tomb: Relative Significance for Quebec City
Although the discovery of Champlain's grave generated significant regional and even international media interest, the fact remains that, according to the City of Quebec, this discovery would be of “relative” importance from a scientific and archaeological perspective.
“The significance of the possible discovery of Champlain's grave is more symbolic than scientific. The value of the scientific lessons that could be learned from such a discovery is relative,” said Quebec City spokesman Jean-Pascal Lavoie. The latter is not related to the archaeologist Carl Lavoie.
“The information would undoubtedly be of interest, but would probably not affect the knowledge we already have about the way of life of the colonists in the early days of New France. However, it cannot be ruled out that such a discovery could bring with it some surprises,” the city spokesman continued.
Opinions that differ
According to the Quebec Historical Society, Champlain is important not only to the city of Quebec, but also to all of North America, even though we had to wait nearly 230 years after his death in 1635 for someone to be interested in the location of his burial.
“To say that importance is relative is a value judgment that I don’t agree with. For me it is not relative. It is important,” reacted André Potvin, president of the Quebec Historical Society.
The Ministry of Culture and Communication does not share the same opinion as the city. According to the government, such a discovery would be “of great interest, particularly historically and archaeologically.”
The ministry says it is prepared to issue a permit to any applicant who has the skills and resources necessary to conduct archaeological research related to the search for the tomb of Samuel de Champlain. Applications will be evaluated based on existing program criteria and financial leverage, it says.
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