'Luck is certainly part of it': 1913 Alberta licence plate pulled from banks of the Bow River in Calgary
It's not unusual to find an old licence plate in a riverbed.
But finding one that is 108 years old, and in near pristine condition, doesn't happen every day.
Crews working on the Downtown Flood Barrier and Eau Claire Promenade project discovered a red and white Alberta plate marked with the number '390' on the south banks of the Bow River, near the Centre Street Bridge on Tuesday.
"Working in an area like this, along the banks of the river where we know there's historical relevance, we make sure we're prepared and expect to find items like this, so we have an archaeologist on site," said Jeff Baird, a senior transportation engineer with the city.
"They're monitoring the excavation as we go through, looking for things like this."
It was found "below grade," Baird said, meaning it was buried.
"We do work through these areas with care and not just go through and rip it up and haul it away," he said.
"There is a level of care and detail, especially working around the river like this, there's that inherent cautious excavation and demolition and construction activities we would undertake. It's fortunate it did come out in such good condition."
The city and province are now working to learn more about the plate, and potentially link it to a previous owner.
"We're working with the province to analyze and document and discover whatever information we can on it," Baird said.
"At this point there would be no reason to believe it wasn't real. Definitely an exciting part of the story is finding out who it did belong to."
Work along the riverbank is one of several projects ongoing in the area since the 2013 flood.
Finding buried treasures from the past isn't that uncommon, Baird said, which is why an archaeologist is involved in construction.
"It really depends on the project and the location," he said. "In areas like this, the Eau Claire area, along the riverbanks especially, it's certainly more frequent to find things like this. It's things that can arise from previous construction as well, so obviously there has been work in that area for quite some time."
The fact the plate is in such good shape involved a bit of luck.
"There's several factors that can play into that," Baird said.
"Luck is certainly part of it. Being where it is within the fill and the excavation there, things can be preserved pretty well if they're not exposed to the elements."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.