The shovel was struck into the ground just metres away from Lake Ontario on a sunny but brisk morning Thursday at around 9 a.m. Within half an hour, the team struck gold.

Make that wood.

Old wood. The team of diggers had uncovered precisely what they were looking for: wooden beams from the early 19th century belonging to the first lock from the first Welland Canal.

"It was incredible because we found the lock wall within 30 minutes of digging," said Rene Ressler, who runs an organization called the Welland Canals Advocate and is acting as a technical consultant on the dig.

What made the digging bear fruit so quickly was that the team had started in the right spot.

That might not seem to be such a remarkable achievement. After all, everyone with some interest in Welland Canal history knows Port Dalhousie is the starting point of the first three canals. There's even a plaque near the northern tip of Port indicating the historic significance of the canal.

But much has changed in the area since the structure which opened up the Canadian interior to shipping trade was built.

In Port specifically, the first lock of the canal was built at the mouth of the Twelve Mile Creek.

Ressler said the area was all marsh at the time and it's difficult to match up historical documents to today's landscapes.

Fortunately, Jouppien is an experienced digger.

"That's five decades of archeological experience," he said.

Jouppien was hired by the city to uncover the canal and record its exact location for future preservation. Council budgeted $8,000 in 2008 for the effort, which in theory could dictate how any future development goes forward. For example, underground infrastructure like water or power lines would be buffered away from the canal wall.

Standing over the west wall of the canal, Jouppien pointed out its features and was impressed to see perpendicular wooden beams, similar to what is seen at Fort George, which were used to buttress the wall.

One of the fascinating aspects of exploratory digs is when one realizes how these structures were built, he said.

"This was all hand-dug," he said, adding the spaces between the beams were compacted with dirt.

Jouppien pointed to an off-coloured layer of sand and stated with confidence that it is the original layer of beach, meaning all dirt and sand on top of it was filled in since the canal was built.

Ressler said the point of the dig is to be able to protect the canal. Ideally, if it's in good enough shape it could be restored and used for modern day pleasure craft. Otherwise, it could simply be preserved as a static display.

Either way, he said, he'd like it to receive a national heritage designation, which would compel the city to make sure it stays preserved.

"What they do with this site will be a benchmark of what to expect on future restoration," he said.