Random Most Bizarre Historical Artifacts Ever Discovered On Construction Sites (16 items)

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  (#6) A 17th Century African Burial Ground Was Found In Manhattan

  History is often obscured by the fog of time and, more literally, rubble. In 1991, plans to build a new federal building in lower Manhattan began with excavation just north of the Tweed Courthouse in what is now Chinatown.  

  As excavation progressed, workers discovered a seventeenth century burial ground where African people, enslaved in what was then the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, had been continually interred for about century, between the 1690s and the 1790s. The site sits between Broadway and Centre Street, near Thomas Paine Park. 

  Once discovered, the building construction was stopped and further archeological excavation of the site unearthed the remains. Some individuals were even identified, notably Groot Manuel, who was identified by his living descendant, Christopher Moore. 

  Two years later, the site was recognized as a national historic landmark. A decade later, the remains of over a dozen individuals were ceremoniously reburied, and in 2006 President George W. Bush proclaimed the area a national monument. The discovery and preservation of the burial ground is of huge importance to both African-American history and American history as a whole. 
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  (#9) Around Two Dozen Coffins Were Found Under A Philadelphia Apartment Building

  In March 2017, construction crews working on an apartment complex in Philadelphia unearthed scores of fully intact human remains and coffins. It's speculated that the remains are from the 18th century, as the nearby Betsy Ross House was allegedly an old burial ground for the First Baptist Church.

  When the church moved sometime around 1860, they were supposed to exhume and re-inter all of their parishioners remains. Clearly, they cut some corners. The remains discovered were sent to the forensics lab at Rutgers-Camden, with the hope of identifying them, cleaning them, and analyzing them. The ultimate resting place (after documentation) is Mount Moriah Cemetery. 
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  (#14) An 18th Century Cemetery Was Found At A Site For A New Orleans Swimming Pool

  In 2011, Vincent Marcello was prepared to find remains when he wanted to build a new pool, and so decided to hire archeologist Ryan Gray to dig in the area before construction began. 

  As all involved suspected, Gray did find human remains. In fact, he uncovered 15 wooden coffins where the new pool was to be installed. It turns out that these dearly departed were interred in the larger Saint Peter Cemetery of New Orleans. This was not surprising to anyone (insanely) because bones and whole skeletons were unearthed in the '80s during another building project nearby. With the utmost care and respect, Gray’s team sent all coffins and human remains, as found, to Louisiana State University to be studied and cared for. 
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  (#13) The 2,200-Year-Old, Long-Lost Temple Of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV Was Found In Egypt

  The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that construction workers drilling a new sewage drain in Kom Shakau village in Tama township in northern Sohag in Egypt uncovered the 2,200-year-old long-lost temple of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV. He was the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 221 BC to 205 BC when he perished. 

  On October 2, 2019, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said construction was suspended while archeologists attempt to uncover the temple ruins. The drilling team found several limestone walls with inscriptions, one of which is Ptolemy IV's name. 
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  (#3) A Child's Letter To Santa Claus From 1943 Was Found In A Chimney

  A letter was written by a little boy named David and addressed to Santa Claus during Christmas 1943. The letter was presumably placed with care inside the chimney of David’s home. Seventy-two years later, contractor Lewis Shaw was helping demolish the same home when his crew found the letter, still inside the chimney. It read:

  “Dear Father Christmas, 

  Please can you send me a Rupert annual, and a drum box of chalks, soldiers and Indians, slippers and any little toys you have to spare, 

  Love

  David”

  Miraculously, this letter was reunited with David. Shaw tried to track him down with Facebook and by speaking to neighbors who still lived close by. The search even gave birth to a social media campaign, #FindDavid. Shaw eventually found the still-living David.
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  (#12) More Than 40 Skeletons Possibly From The 11th Or 17th Century Were Found In England

  Construction workers in Buckingham, southern England, discovered 42 buried skeletons while preparing a new development on former farmland. The skeletons' hands were pressumably tied behind their backs, and archaeologists speculate they were either from Anglo-Saxon Britain or the English Civil War from 1642 to 1651. They could even be prisoners who perished on gallows, but the official report is highly classified. Neighboring townspeople are demanding information given the "historical significance" of the area.  

  According to the MK Citizen, Places for People, the company that owns the land and is planning the development, had to commision an archaeological investigation, which is how the remains were discovered. 

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