Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley is a special place. Its beauty and fertility are justifiably renowned, epitomized by the view from The Look-Off, the broad patchwork quilt of the Grand-Pré Marsh, productive vineyards, and the ever-watchful face of Blomidon. But this valley's history is much more complex, and certainly more violent, than the quiet present might lead us to believe. Beneath our feet and scattered for miles are the physical remains of a very different valley, a community built by French and Indigenous inhabitants in the last decades of the 17th century. This community grew and prospered until international conflict in the mid-18th century tore it to pieces, reducing its villages to ash and making refugees of many of its inhabitants. Gaining a perspective on this older valley is far from easy. In this illustrated talk, we'll employ historical texts and maps, archaeological evidence, and a host of high-tech instruments in an effort to reveal something of that hidden world.