'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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.