WW I machine-guns, 1870s cannons unearthed at PNE grounds in Vancouver
German machine-guns and 19th century cannons are among the latest military artifacts unearthed by construction crews at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver.
Crews working to construct the PNE's new amphitheatre in Hastings Park first uncovered a piece of wartime material in late March — a captured First World War-era German howitzer. The new discoveries came a month later, on April 23, during excavation work.
Among the latest artifacts found are four German machine-guns from the First World War.
"What we've been able to determine is that two of these machine-guns were allocated to South Vancouver as war trophies," James Calhoun, a curator and archivist with the Vancouver-based Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, told CBC News.
WATCH | Machine-guns, cannons unearthed in Hastings Park:
Two British-Canadian "nine-pounder" cannons from the 1870s were also found. Calhoun says he's spoken to military experts who aren't sure how the weapons ended up in Vancouver.
"They speculate that the most logical explanation is that they probably came from the naval base in Esquimalt," he said. "In 1905, the British turned that over to the Canadian forces and these were probably in stock there."
PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance said previously that crews were excavating on March 27 when they "hit something" that turned out to be a German howitzer from the First World War.
Calhoun believes it was brought back to Vancouver as a war trophy and was on display at Hastings Park from 1921 until the 1930s. A trail for the howitzer was among the items found in April.
He called the findings "historically significant," noting that the relationship between Hastings Park and the Canadian military dates back more than a century.
WATCH | Artillery found at the PNE grounds:
The PNE says the site was used for military purposes during the First World War, mostly for assembling and training troops, as well as military parades and deployment.
It went on to say it is working with a Vancouver Park Board archeologist and the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Museum to assess the artifacts and return them to the Canadian Armed Forces as museum pieces.
Calhoun believes there's more artillery buried at the park and he wants to work with the PNE and city to use ground-penetrating radar to search for more pieces.
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