An enormous anchor has been unearthed in Progreso, Yucatán, the state’s most important port city.

The anchor, which is three meters long, has an arm span of two meters and weighs approximately 1.5 tonnes, was first spotted Tuesday in the malecón (seaside promenade) area of Progreso, which is currently being upgraded. It was uncovered by heavy machinery after paving was removed.

A citizen reported the find to authorities and experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) cordoned off the site on Wednesday before removing the anchor.

The newspaper Diario de Yucatán reported that it’s believed that it belonged to a steamboat of the kind that used to arrive in Progreso some 100 years ago.

Progreso Mayor Julián Zacarías Curi said on Twitter that the anchor will be cleaned and restored by the relevant authorities in order to identify any engraving that might indicate its origin.

“The history our beloved port holds is invaluable,” he wrote, adding that the anchor was found during remodeling work on the malecón.

INAH Yucatán chief Eduardo López Calzada said that researchers will carry out tests to determine the approximate age of the anchor. He noted that it is an admiralty anchor, also known as a fisherman anchor.

Among other artifacts that have been unearthed during public works projects in Mexico are a gold ingot apparently lost by Spanish conquistadores when they were fleeing the pre-Hispanic city of Tenochtitlán in 1520, and relics related to a “new fire”  ceremony carried out by the Mexica people every 52 years to mark the beginning of a new calendar cycle.

With reports from EFE, Yucatán Ahora and Diario de Yucatán