Construction workers have discovered human remains believed to date back nearly a century near the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Belfast Street - close to the site of a similar find in 2013.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
For the second time in seven years, a body has been uncovered as crews dig up and replace century-old pipes on the Southeast Hill.
Work stopped briefly this week when workers discovered human remains while excavating and laying new water line at the end of the 500 block of Belfast Street.
Near the same location in 2013, gas line workers found bones and clothing while running new line in the alley that intersects the road near Sixth Avenue.
The new remains are also believed to date back nearly a century.
The Medicine Hat Police Service considers the find to be non-suspicious and has turned the file and the remains over to the medical examiners office in Calgary.
Crews contracted by the city to replace water lines were working at the site again on Wednesday.
There has never been a definitive answer regarding the identity of the body found in 2013, a cause of death or why they were there.
The neighbourhood was one of the first built in Medicine Hat, but houses generally date to the 1900s, at least 20 years after the town sprung up.
Speculation has generally revolved around the potential of common graves being dug before the turn of the last century.
In June 2013 crews replacing a gas line in the area discovered a skeleton and the metal pieces of a casket.
That case was initially investigated by an archeologist and the medical examiner’s office, but it is not known if a report has ever been filed.
