A hiker in Mill Valley made a strange and potentially lethal discovery on Sunday afternoon, leading to the Berkeley bomb squad getting called across a bridge and a brief bit of drama.

The find was a military-green, antique-looking ordinance or ammunition of some kind, wires and all, found along Trail 6A off of Eagle Trail — just outside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, but not really anywhere near the historic military forts in the Marin Headlines. As Marin County Sheriff’s Lt. Jesse Klinge tells KPIX, there were two military-grade canisters in all, "one above-ground, with wires and blasting caps and the second partially buried near the trail."

Update- Bomb Squad will safely destroy the suspected explosives on site at approx 11pm. No need for evacuations. https://t.co/e9JsPoVAn0

— Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) May 11, 2020

It's unclear if the ordinance had been moved there recently, or was recently unearthed and manipulated. "It looked like it was getting readied to be blown up," said Lt. Klinge.

By 11:18 p.m. on Sunday, an all-clear was issued by the department via email. "The Berkeley PD Bomb Squad has successfully and safely destroyed the suspected explosive device. The area has been cleared by the BPD Bomb Squad, MCSO Deputies and the Mill Valley Fire Department. Trail 6A and Eagle Trail will be open to local foot traffic at sunrise."

The areas of the Golden Gate on both sides of the bridge were the sites of military installations dating back to the 19th century. Back in 2015, an unexploded ordinance dated to the 1880s was found near Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, and it was thought to be one that might have shot from one of the the 8-inch Rodman cannons at Fort Point, across the water.

If you ever find such an item, you should never go near it or touch it. As old as it may be, the explosives inside are still potentially viable and volatile.

Photo: Veronica Gomez Ibarra