Construction workers are used to discovering old foundations, drains and trenches when they’re breaking ground on a new project. Uncovering intriguing artifacts from a city’s history, however, is another story.

Builders working on the Queen’s Marque, a massive real estate development project at the heart of Halifax’s waterfront district, have been unearthing relics from the city’s past that have onlookers and archeologist clamouring for a glimpse.

One of those archeologists, Kathryn Stewart, told CTV Atlantic on Thursday that her team has started conducting larger excavations at the site to expose the city’s foundations below.

The site of the Queen’s Marque is one of the oldest areas of Halifax. Soon after the city was founded in 1749, the harbour was infilled. That old stone foundation is just one of the exciting discoveries being revealed at the construction site these days.

Stewart said they have also uncovered the foundations of a guard house from the 1780s, a cannonball and even an old boot during the trenching process.

The artifacts are with a conservator now and will be catalogued. They may even wind up in a museum one day or on display at the Queen’s Marque.