July 18, 2013: A photo provided by the Atlanta Police Department shows an object believed to be a cannonball that was unearthed during work at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. (AP)
Atlanta police say a construction crew has unearthed what appears to be a cannonball near Centennial Olympic Park.
Police spokesman Gregory Lyon says the crew dug up the suspected cannonball Thursday afternoon and authorities took it to a bomb range.
Centennial Olympic Park is owned by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. Spokeswoman Jennifer LeMaster says the cannonball was removed from the property, but authorities have not yet determined exactly how old it is.
Police spokesman John Chafee says bomb technicians said the artifact may have been from the Civil War era, but authorities say the suspected cannonball has not yet been examined by an expert.
When federal troops besieged Atlanta in 1864, they fired thousands of cannon shells into the downtown area that now includes Centennial Olympic Park.
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