The video opens with a 360-degree view of a 3D model of a postmark stamp from the Legislative Assembly of Canada. The postmark stamp is made of a gold-coloured material, with the inscription “LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. /CANADA.” engraved on it. The video stops after 10 seconds, offering a full view of the postmark stamp.

[Opening shot of the place D’Youville in Montreal on a sunny day. The title “Treasures beneath the city” appears on screen.]

[Shot of Hendrik Van Gijseghem, project manager in archeology and history at Pointe-à-Callière.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
I’m standing on place D’Youville where in 1832, St. Anne’s Market was built over the course of the Little River. In 1844 the Parliament of the Province of Canada came and sat here until 1849 when it was burned down. 

[A 19^th-century lithograph of the smoking ruins of the Montreal Parliament appears on screen.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
It’s on this site of national importance that Pointe-à-Callière undertook, between 2010 and 2017, major archaeological excavations. 

[A series of pictures of the archaeological dig appear on screen.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
Welcome to place D’Youville ! 

[The title “The Assembly Seals” appears on screen.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
So we’re in the western wing of the parliament where the assembly was taking place and probably some associated offices as well. And it’s exactly here, five meters down, that we found the official legislative assembly postmark. 

[Close up shot of the legislative assembly postmark. It is a small object made of copper-like material.]

[Shot of Henrik Van Gijseghem sitting within the parliament artifacts collections.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
So the government was in Montreal for five years between 1844 and 1849. In 1849, the building was burned down by rioters, utterly destroyed. And then it stayed like that for close to two years, just in ruins in the middle of the city. And what archaeologists found was that people, whether citizens or the city, we’re not really sure, actually went into the ruins and recycled a lot of materials, removed lots of the metals, for instance, maybe to reuse or melt. We’re not really sure. However, they missed some things. 

[Shot of Hendrik Van Gijseghem removing a large box from a high-up shelf. He places the box on a table opens it. Within it are fragile objects encased in protective material.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
One of the things that archaeologists found is an official legislative assembly postmark. 

[Hendrik Van Gijseghem removes a tube from the box and opens it, taking out a small object. It is the legislative assembly postmark.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
Very unique object. We actually found a letter that was postmarked by that very object, we think, and their letter was written one week before the fire. 

[Shot of Henrik Van Gijseghem taking out a piece of paper from a protective envelope. The piece of paper is a letter with the seal of the legislative assembly. Close up shot of the seal on the letter next to the postmark.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
We also found another little metal object that’s a wax seal associated with the council library. 

[Shot of a picture of the wax seal exposed at the place D’Youville exhibition.]

Hendrik Van Gijseghem:
And those are unique objects because they’re official government items that are normally destroyed after they’re used, so they’re absolutely unique in the archaeological record. 

[The logo of “A parliament under your feet” appears on screen, under the title “outdoor exhibition.” There are two bubbles saying “free!” and “guides on-site.” The address “Place D’Youville, between St-Pierre and McGill streets” is at the bottom of the screen, next to the mention, “Until November 1^st.”]

[The logo of the Pointe-à-Callière museum appears on screen. Underneath it is the mention, “This project was made possible thanks to financial support from Tourisme Montréal’s Fonds de maintien des actifs stratégiques, with the financial participation of the Government of Quebec.” At the bottom of the screen are the logos of Tourisme Montréal, the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec.]