Crews excavating the site of a new amphitheater at Tire In Vancouver, last Thursday, discovered a piece in Canadian military history – which would be a German pistol captured from the First World War.
“They picked it up or were able to lift it with a crane, and discovered that it was what was initially described as a barrel,” said Tire spokesperson Laura Ballance on Tuesday.
“Certainly one of the questions that was asked very quickly … Is it loaded?”
No, it was not busy. And no, it was not a cannon either.
Archaeologists and military historians have since determined which work teams were a country artillery piece, probably more than a century.
“Around 1914, and at the time of the Canadian army was present here, they had a building not far from here for many years when we thought it may have been stored at some point, then for any reason, he found himself under the asphalt of what the people of British Columbia know the balance, said the pne amphitheather, which will be the new Freeding Arc Ballance.
Get national news
For news that has an impact on Canada and worldwide, register for the safeguarding of news alerts that are delivered to you directly when they occur.
“The archaeologists of the city told me that they had found nothing like that nowhere in the city. We have certainly found nothing like it,” said Ballance.
Hastings Park and the current tire site have a long history with the Canadian Forces, and the site was used by the army – mainly for training, parade and the deployment of troops – during the First World War, between 1914 and 1918.
James Calhoun, conservative of Seaform Highlanders of Canada Museum, said that the recovered artillery piece would actually be supposed to be a German pistol captured by Canadian troops during the First World War.
He, and many, loved it, were returned to Canada as a trophies after the war, and were staged in cities and civic buildings in the cities of the country, “he said.
Calhoun said the cannons started to rust and break down in the 1920s and 1930s, and were transferred to Hastings Park to be destroyed or rebuilt.
This plan was suspended after a public outcry, but when the Second World War started, many of them were cut and their metal used new weapons to fight the powers of the axis.
“During the Second World War, there were rumors that some of them were buried in the tire, and it turns out that it was one of the weapons that were buried,” he said.
“We can only speculate on the reasons why they were buried. It may be because they were heavy and too bulky to move, the firearm probably weighs a ton and a half. Maybe it’s because someone wanted to keep them. So our hope is that there are more weapons buried there. ”
The tire is currently working with archaeologists and archivists of the city of Vancouver to determine the history of the artifact, as well as the next steps to return it to the Canadian forces as a museum piece.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.