Artifacts dating as far back thousands of years have surfaced in Toronto as the city’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction continues.
It’s hard to imagine a horse and buggy rolling along Eglinton Avenue at Kennedy Road, but the evidence is there, uncovered by the ongoing LRT project.
Karim Hosny, an environmental manager with Crosslinx, says construction has uncovered a series of items dating back to the early 1900s, including a set of wagon wheels.
“My guess is they would have been used in a cart with a horse, and they date back to the turn of the century,“ said Hosny.
Other artifacts include old bottles, which also date back to the early 1900s. Dairy bottles, medicinal bottles and even an old ink well, once used with a fountain pen, were discovered during the construction.
Hosny says that when artifacts are found during a dig, the area is isolated and the items are removed and assessed. Then the artifacts are then returned the site.
There are currently no future plans for the artifacts.
The oldest item found so far was an arrowhead from midtown excavation on the LRT line.
“That’s from an old hunting camp, and they found around 2,800 items,” said Hosny. “The arrowhead is about 5,000 years old.”
Hosny says the team expects to uncover more artifacts as LRT construction pushes further east.