The world can be a strange place sometimes. Even the most mundane places like your backyard can hide something so extraordinary underneath it that you’d be tempted to get one of those excavators for sale in NZ. Check out some of the weirdest things people were able to unearth in their backyard.
An assassin’s grave
When this new homeowner settled down in Auburn, New York, the last thing he thought was having the bones of a notorious assassin in his yard. He was digging in preparation for putting up a swing set when he had this discovery.
The resident called up the police and anyone who could help him understand why there were bones in his backyard. Eventually, they discovered that the house used to be part of the Auburn Correctional Facility.
They also found out that the bones buried beneath his backyard belonged to a number of inmates who died either through execution or natural means. But one particular set of bones made the headlines because it belonged to Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of former U.S. President William McKinley.
Buried treasure
A California couple was walking their dog outside when they stumbled on eight rusty tin cans that carried coins worth more than a million dollars. According to reports, the couple discovered the cans in their property and after they unearthed the cans, they discovered that they contained 1,427 gold coins.
When they had the coins’ value estimated, it amounted to $10 million. The couple had the coins auctioned off. They also asked the media to keep their identities anonymous. Up to this day, no one knows how a trove of gold coins ended up in the couple’s property.
An ancient graveyard
A resident wanted to install a pool in his backyard, but before he pushed through with his plan, he decided to have an expert take a survey of his land first. The homeowner, Vincent Marcello, hired an archaeologist to investigate his land for anything out of the ordinary before he pushed through with his pool construction.
When the archaeologist was done with his survey, though, it seemed that Marcello was planning to build a pool over an ancient graveyard. There were 15 wooden coffins buried in his backyard.
Experts say that the graveyard was around 300 years old and it was one of the first cemeteries in New Orleans. They were able to figure that out when upon checking local historical records, they discovered that that place was where St. Peter cemetery is located.
Eventually, the excavation was halted and Marcello was able to build his pool. When asked if it bothered him that his pool was sitting above an ancient cemetery, he said that it didn’t bother him at all.
An ancient stone
Stephen Davis, who prided himself on being a historian, set out to discover something of historical value in his town of Gloucestershire. He knew that an ancient stone called Horestone was hidden somewhere and he intended to be the one to discover it. After months of trying to find it, he ended up with nothing.
Funnily though, when Davis went back to his house, it was there where he discovered the lost stone — right in his backyard. The Horestone was hidden beneath some major overgrowth, but Davis was able to unearth it and therefore cement his reputation as a great historian.
So, if you think most backyards are uninteresting, think again. The stories above should convince you that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to people’s yards. You might even be tempted to dig up your own backyard.
