Workers unearthed human remains Thursday afternoon while replacing an aged water main along Queen Street.
The discovery halted work near Elgin and Queen streets. Police immediately covered off the area with black cloth while they removed the remains.
Bruce Elliot, a Carleton University historian, says an area west of the National Arts Centre was the original town cemetery for Bytown, reports Metro Ottawa. Many workers building the Rideau Canal were buried in the graveyard.
Police are looking into whether the location is actually a historic gravesite.
Construction on Queen Street between Lyon and Elgin streets began this August and reduced the road to two lanes. The work will continue until late December in anticipation of construction to extend the LRT line downtown.
Traffic hasn’t been interrupted by the discovery, and the city says this will not delay LRT construction, according to media reports.
Ottawa’s new LRT Confederation Line will carry passengers from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair Station through downtown. Most of the line will be above ground, but a tunnel will pass under the Rideau Canal and connect three of the downtown stations.