ISLand Project. Deliverable 4.3. Report of Archaeological Fieldwork

Flat Island clearly represents a significant heritage asset for Mauritius, for both local and tourist markets. Our immediate objective for the Quarantine station was to document the remaining structures, and for the whole island to perform overall archaeological potential assessment. Our results will form part of a wider restoration and conservation plan to promote the preservation of this important cultural site. The 2022 fieldwork season extended between July 11th and 29th was conducted with the support of European Commission (MSCA_GA No 897004, Project ISLand). The main focus of this season has been the survey and accurate documentation of the cemetery and hospital quarter, as well as the survey and drone-mapping of Camp 2 on the western side of the island. The archaeological investigation planned in the 2022 fieldwork season included a detailed documentation of the funerary elements and paths related to the cemetery. We performed a comprehensive archaeological survey of the standing architecture in the hospital quarter, where we found additional structures to those already known from archival sources and historical maps. We dug small trenches where we collected artifacts and environmental samples, related to the last period of station use.