A digger who helped build the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance buried underneath it a plaque bearing his face and his name.
"Lewis" - no one knows if it was a first or last name - left the plaque with a rough sketch of his face on it under the Shrine.
Almost 100 years on from the Gallipoli campaign, a $45 million upgrade of the Shrine is three months ahead of schedule.
Alongside Lewis' plaque was another one in different handwriting, with a date - December 1928 - believed to be a progress marker of where construction was up to.
The Victorian government has trawled service records to find the "Lewis" who worked on the project, but have not been able to find him or his family.
The diggers' plaques were found when builders dug below the foundations to build the Galleries of Remembrance rooms.
Major Projects minister David Hodgett said the upgrade of the Shrine was three months ahead of schedule and would be open this year.
"One of the highlights of the exhibition space will be a lifeboat used during the Gallipoli landing from the troop and hospital ship SS Devanha, on long-term loan from the Australian War Memorial," Mr Hodgett told reporters on Sunday.
The original shrine was largely funded by public donation and built by returned servicemen during the Great Depression.
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.
