Gray Burial Site
{{Short description|Late Archaic period site in Saskatchewan, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Gray Burial Site
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| type = Burial grounds
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| image = Gray Burial Site National Historic Site of Canada.png
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| coordinates = {{coord|50.3430|-107.8785|type:landmark_region:CA-SK|display=inline,title}}
| location = Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| founded = {{circa}} 3000 BC
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| designation1 = National Historic Site of Canada
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| designation1_date = November 15, 1973
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Gray Burial Site is an Oxbow complex burial ground located near Swift Current, Saskatchewan. It is notable for being an Aboriginal burial ground located on the Canadian prairies and being one of the oldest sites of this type found.
History
The site was discovered in 1963 on a farm near Swift Current, with archaeological work beginning in 1969.{{cite news |last= Waiser|first= Bill|date= 9 June 2015|title= Saskatchewan's oldest graveyard is ancient|url= https://billwaiser.com/saskatchewans-oldest-graveyard-is-ancient/|work= Saskatoon StarPhoenix|location= Saskatoon|access-date= 15 July 2021}}{{cite journal |last= Wade|first= William D.|date= 1981|title= Temporal and Biological Dimensions of The Gray Site Population|url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/41058606|journal= Canadian Journal of Archaeology|issue= 5|pages= 119–130|jstor= 41058606|access-date= 15 July 2021}} Later excavations uncovered remains of 304 bodies.{{cite report |author= R.E. Morlan|date= 2001|title= Quaternary Dates and Vertebrate Faunas in Saskatchewan|url= https://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/publications/STPublications_PublicationsST/213/213035/of_3888.pdf|page= 26|access-date= 15 July 2021}} The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1973, as it is one of the oldest indigenous burial grounds in the Canadian Prairies.{{CRHP|19641|Gray Burial Site}} In 2012, 87 burials with the remains of about 154 individuals had been identified.