Quiggly Hole - Appearance and Location

Appearance and Location

Quigglies appear as a circular depression in the ground which are the remnants of former log-roofed pithouses. Quigglies generally come in large groupings known as quiggly towns, some with hundreds of holes indicating a potential population of thousands. Some of these holes were residential for single family or larger groups, while some may have been storage only. Quiggly towns are typically located where solar exposure, water supply, and access to fish, game and gatherable foodstuffs are favourable.

Quiggly towns and smaller groups of quiggly holes are common features of the landscape in certain areas of southern British Columbia, notably from the Fraser Canyon near Lillooet across the Thompson River valley and down the Okanagan Valley.

Hudson's Bay Flats is the old location of a site called Fort Chilcotin. The Fort Chilcotin site contains a number of quiggly holes. The Thompson river between Pritchard and Kamloops also has quiggly holes. Indian artifacts have been recovered from quiggly holes including arrowheads and scrapers. Some rockhounds believe digging around quiggly holes looking for artfacts destroys what little historical record remains.