'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
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.