A team of archaeologists have been called in after a passerby made an unexpected discovery on a 琉璃神社 beach.

The discovery was made by a member of the public, just south of where construction was taking place at the Royal Avenue Beach Access Park, near 琉璃神社 General Hospital.

Teams are now investigating what the object could be.

According to the City of 琉璃神社, the artifact looked to be an old, modified stone.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a modified piece of rock, pre-contact, that鈥檚 what they think,鈥� said Andrew Gibbs, Senior Project Manager with the City of 琉璃神社.

Gibbs explained that pre-contact defines an object as being older than 1846, which would make it at least 173 years old today.

As a result, the construction project that was underway, erosion control and a path between Royal Avenue and Strathcona Park, has been halted.

The discovery of the artifact was made back in the spring, and since then the City has been working to have an archaeological assessment approved.

鈥淲hen they discovered the artifact, we put the project on hold, then we had to apply for a permit to do an archaeological investigation, which you鈥檝e seen on-site, that鈥檚 underway now,鈥� Gibbs.

鈥淭he archaeologists will do their investigation on-site, then they鈥檒l do a report, and they鈥檒l submit that to the archaeology branch. That report will give us a better idea of what the history might have been.鈥�

Archaeologists arrived on-site at the beginning of this week (Nov. 16). On-site with them is a monitor from the Westbank First Nation.

Gibbs isn鈥檛 sure the history of that specific area or the last time an artifact was found within city boundaries.

The city hopes to be back up and working on the project by next spring.

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