Unbelievable Backyard Treasure Discoveries
From dead bodies to prehistoric creatures, objects from outer space, millions of dollars in jewels and cash, an escape room and even an entire Ferrari— these finds that have turned up in people’s gardens will make anyone want to run for a shovel and start digging.
1. 1700’s Burial Grounds
When New Orleans native Vincent Marcello began digging a plot for a fun-filled project for his family, he never expected to excavate a historic burial ground from the 1700s.
2. 1000-Year-Old Remains
Earlier this year, a man from Salt Lake City, Utah, was digging up a pond in his backyard, when he made a startling discovery. The gruesome pile of bones appeared like something out of a horror film. Frightened by the unexpected find, the man called the police who soon sent the remains to a local examiner for testing.
3. Meteorites
Anything from outer space is cool, and to stumble upon an object that could be from an alternate universe is just plain out of this world. The odds of finding something like this in your backyard is rare, so the chances of a meteorite hitting your property six times in a row are unheard of.
4. Whale Fossil
This next one was a whale of a find— no, seriously. In 1978, Gary Johnson from California, noticed a large rock sticking out of the ground with a peculiar bone pattern near his backyard. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the unusual bone markings had to render this find remarkable.
5. Mystery object
Two sisters from Kitchener, Canada made a startling discovery while digging up their backyard in hopes to catch worms for an upcoming fishing trip. Deep in the ground was a lodged object— it appeared transparent and shiny with a bluish hue.
6. A Fallout Shelter
If you had a metal door hidden in the ground in your backyard, how long would it take before you investigated what was inside? For the Zwick family from Neenah, Wisconsin, a lot longer than one might expect. While they always knew about the mysterious metal door, they never dared explore it; that is, until one day a brave family member tested the hatch to see what was inside
7. Buried Ferrari
Two kids on a mission to dig some holes in their backyard never thought they’d hit a jackpot with four wheels. In 1978, the two Los Angeles residents found a Dino 246 GTS Ferrari right in the midst of their own backyard. After excavating the car, followed by a little investigative digging, they discovered that the car had been stolen and buried several years prior.
8. A roman sarcophagus
In September of 2012, an antique dealer by the name of Guy Schwinge, was clearing out a crumbling mansion in Dorset, England when he spotted something unusual.
9. Roman Coins
The next marks the third largest find in the history of the United Kingdom. In March 2004, a man named Ken Allen set out to dig a garden pond for his estate in Thornbury, England. While hard at work, his shovel made contact with something out of the ordinary— it was a hoard of Roman coins.
10. The Staten Island Buried Treasure
When Mathew and Maria Emanuel eyed the corner of a rusted and rotted looking metal object in their yard, they never expected that an afternoon planting a couple trees would lead to the biggest discovery of their lives. The box submerged in dirt revealed a safe with $52,000 worth of swag inside— we’re talking jade, gold, diamonds, and wads of an optimistic Benjamin Franklin.
11. 650-Year-Old Treasure
A gardener named Andreas K. from Wiener Neustadt in Austria was expanding his garden pool in 2007 when he discovered a sparkling treasure trove right in his own backyard.
12. US Double Eagle Gold Coins
The finders were baffled to discover gold American coins buried deep in the dirt in an inner-city garden on the other side of the Atlantic; these weren’t any ordinary coins, either— the jam jar lodged in soil was packed with 80 US Double-Eagle gold pieces
13. 150,000 Dollars in Cool Cash
Wayne Sabaj, an unemployed 51-year-old-man from Illinois, was happily plucking broccoli from his garden in 2011 when his hand grazed something unnatural rising from the earth. Uprooting the object to give it a closer inspection, Sabaj discovered $150,000 dollars’ worth of cash inside the nylon bag.
14. A Gold Nugget
Perhaps the old guy on the beach with a metal detector shouldn’t be scoffed at¬— for the same contraption earned one man a whopping $460,000 after he discovered an 8.2-pound lump of gold in his backyard. Armed with the metal detector and a shovel, the California native had no problem digging up the nugget, which he soon discovered was of extraordinary size.
15. 10 million dollars in Gold Coins
A couple from Sierra Nevada, California, take the cake when it comes to a true treasure hunter’s dream find.
