Cannon believed to predate First World War found on Vancouver’s PNE grounds

The Pacific National Exhibition says it’s unearthed an early 20th-century field artillery weapon during excavation for a new amphitheatre at Vancouver’s Hastings Park.

The PNE says it’s working with the City of Vancouver archeologists and archivists to learn more about the field artillery piece — a type of small cannon used in field warfare — found buried below the mainstage area of the former amphitheatre.

Spokesperson Laura Ballance tells 1130 NewsRadio it’s a very unusual and exciting find, but there is precedence for finding a military weapon in the area.

“Hastings Park and the PNE have a long history with the Canadian Armed Forces. And during World War One, our site was used as a training and assembly location,” said Ballance.

“I’m sure over the next several weeks, we will have a better idea of exactly how this ended up being underneath our concert area.”

So far, she says, an archeologist has dated the piece “around 1914.”

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The PNE says it’s working to get the piece into the hands of the Canadian military, hoping it can be featured in a museum.

“We’ll begin the work of finding out more about it, how it arrived there, and what the best next steps to return this piece of Canadian history to where it rightfully belongs,” said Ballance.

Construction on the ‘Freedom Mobile Arch’ amphitheatre at the PNE is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.

—With files from Anthony Atanasov