VANCOUVER - A brick unearthed decades ago at Fort Vancouver is
back in the spotlight. The brick was first discovered buried in
the ground on the site around 1950, but a recent analysis of its
make-up now shows the brick dates back some 2,000 years, all the
way back to the Roman Empire. One of the most interesting
aspects of the brick is what was likely not supposed to be on
it. If you look closely at one of its corners you’ll see two
tiny paw prints. Archaeologists suspect it’s the work of an
ancient Roman kitty cat. “We kind of jokingly call it the
‘Celtic Kitty,’ jumped up on this wet brick probably close to
2,000 years ago and memorialized itself for all eternity,” said
Bob Cromwell, an archaeologist at Fort Vancouver. The big
question: How in the world did this ancient brick end up in
Vancouver? Cromwell says it likely came over on an English ship
where it was used as ballast, basically just weight to help
balance the ship. “Somebody in England basically recycled, or
took apart, a Roman ruin or maybe a co