Hidden below

What’s lurking beneath your backyard? 10 insane finds you won’t believe!

Image: Evgeniy Kozlov

If you have a backyard, chances are you've wondered what might be lurking beneath its surface. While most of us will only find little more than rocks—or perhaps the remains of a long-lost pet—incredible discoveries aren’t as rare as you might think. From priceless treasures and ancient artifacts to entire forgotten graveyards, here are 10 astonishing stories of people who unearthed remarkable finds right on their own property!

Image: Rick Lobs

In Virginia, a homeowner unearthed a 150-year-old Civil War cannonball while digging. The artillery shell, found near the site of a historical battle, was over 150 years old. Such relics are not uncommon in Virginia, a state that saw more action than any other during the war. Despite their age, unexploded ordnance like this remains risky, as even after centuries these artifacts can still be active and ready to blow up.

Image: Steve Wrzeszczynski

In 2017, a man in Pombal, Portugal, uncovered the fossilized remains of a sauropod dinosaur while doing construction work on his property. Sauropods are a species of plant-eating herbivores. They are among the largest land animals ever to exist, and this particular specimen was even thought to be the largest ever found in Europe.

Image: Roman Kraft

In Massachusetts, construction work at a schoolyard uncovered a 124-year-old time capsule—a copper box about the size of a shoebox. Inside were newspapers from 1894, fragments of Civil War military uniforms, and lists of local residents who served in the war. The remarkable find was donated to a local historical society for evaluation and preservation.

Image: The DK Photography

In the UK, a man discovered an urn containing thousands of ancient Roman coins while digging a fishpond in his backyard, just four feet below the surface. Talk about striking gold! The coins were estimated to be around 1,700 years old. Roman coin hoards have been found across Britain, often dating back to the decline of the Roman Empire.

Image: Natalie

In Tampa, Florida, a family had their own "Goonies" moment while cleaning out their grandfather's attic. During spring cleaning, they discovered a box containing a tattered map of the Hillsborough River, 18th-century Spanish and Portuguese coins, a family photo—and a mysterious hand wearing an antique ring. To make it even crazier, some suggest the hand might belong to the infamous Tampa Bay pirate José Gaspar.

Image: Jerry Wei

In 1978, two Los Angeles children reportedly discovered a buried Ferrari in their backyard, thought to have been stolen years earlier. The wild story made national news, with the most surprising detail being that the car was in shockingly good condition despite its time underground. However, it was later revealed that the story was a cover-up: an informant had tipped off the police about the car's location, and the story was a plan to shield the snitch's identity.

Image: Library of Congress

In Plymouth, England, an unexploded World War II bomb was found in a garden, forcing the evacuation of 10,000 people. Bomb disposal experts took the device away and, after considering all options, decided to detonate it at sea. Unsurprisingly, the event brought the community together during the massive evacuation, with some likening the sense of unity to the "wartime spirit" of old.

Image: Jingming Pan

In a strange case from Roanne, France, a couple who had recently purchased a house found 28 gold bars buried in the garden, with an estimated value of 800,000 euros (roughly equivalent to 822,000 US dollars). However, when they attempted to sell the bars, their sudden riches drew the attention of the French anti-money laundering agency. This led to claims from the previous owners of the house, quickly turning the discovery into a legal headache.

Image: Dylan de Jonge

While renovating their home in Ames, New York, a couple uncovered a stash of Prohibition-era whiskey hidden inside the walls and floorboards. Bundles wrapped in tattered paper contained six bottles each of "Old Smuggler" Gaelic Whiskey, dating back to 1923. The house had once been owned by a German bootlegger named Adolph Humpfner, who undoubtedly left behind the secret stash for the future. A true treasure for whiskey lovers!

Image: Ashutosh Gupta

A family in Norway got more than they bargained for when searching their yard for a lost earring with a metal detector. Instead of jewelry, they uncovered relics from a Viking burial beneath a large tree. The finds included two bronze ornaments once covered in gold, possibly marking the first Viking Age (A.D. 793–1066) discovery on the island of Jomfruland. Experts even said this amazing find confirmed suspicions that the island was inhabited during the Viking period.

Fancy a Soupe à l'Oignon?

Exotic food is just food. Learn what these world cuisine names mean

Image: Sam Loyd

Whenever browsing through the menu of a foreign restaurant, the names can make food appear exotic, fancy, enticing, or straight-out odd. In these cases, the logic dictates that we ask the waiter for help. But a few of these foreign dishes have become famous all over the world and their names pop up in all sorts of restaurants, not just foreign ones. Take a look at the following ten and see if you already know the meaning of any of them!

Image: Philippe Murray-Pietsch

A staple name when it comes to "fancy" meals, Coq au Vin is French for rooster in wine, even if the rooster is usually replaced with chicken. Coq au Vin was a peasant dish in origin due to the fact that rooster meat is tough and sinewy and it takes a long time to marinate and braise to make the meat tender.

As legend goes, this dish originated during the Roman conquest of Gaul. The rooster was a symbol of valor to the Gauls. The chief of the tribe Arverne sent a symbolic rooster to Julius Caesar to show they would never be defeated. Caesar returned this gesture with a surprising twist, serving the chief with a delicious dish of rooster in wine.

Image: Mgg Vitchakorn

A literal translation of "spring pasta", Pasta Primavera certainly sounds Italian. But this dish originated in 70s America, not Italy. Sirio Maccioni, the co-owner of New York restaurant Le Cirque, initially introduced pasta primavera as an off-menu special.

Maccioni is said to have taken a dish of pasta, vegetables, and cream his wife had mixed from a hunger-induced raid of their kitchen, refined it, and started serving it to his guests. Despite its humble beginnings, pasta primavera gained huge popularity amongst diners and critics, eventually being adopted by home cooks in America and beyond.

Image: Bakd&Raw by Karolin Baitinger

Just pronouncing the name of this dish sounds like speaking French. Vichyssoise is a soup made of cooked and mashed leeks, potatoes, onions, and cream, served chilled and garnished with chopped chives. It was invented in the early 20th century by Louis Diat, a cook working as head chef of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York.

Leek and potato soup is a traditional staple of French cuisine. 19th-century French cookbooks give recipes for a simple leek and potato soup, called potage Parmentier or potage à la Parmentier. The name Vichyssoise means "ice-cold cream from Vichy".

Image: Toa Heftiba

A familiar yet exotic name, Chicken Tikka Masala is a dish consisting of roasted marinated chicken chunks in a spiced sauce, often creamy and orange-colored. The dish was created by cooks from South Asia living in Great Britain and is popular in restaurants around the world.

The sauce usually includes tomatoes, cream, coconut cream, and a masala spice mix. The sauce and chicken pieces may be colored orange using foodstuffs such as turmeric, paprika, tomato purée, or food dye. Tikka translates to "roasted", and Massala is "a mix of spices".

Image: Becca Tapert

Moussaka is an eggplant or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

Many versions have a top layer made of custard or béchamel sauce.

In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. There’s a vegan version that replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice. And, in Turkey, moussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. The word moussaka itself translates to "cold, or dipped in liquid".

Image: silvia trigo

Ceviche is a Peruvian dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. The fish is usually cured in lemon or sour lime juice, marinated together with sliced or chopped onion, and served with chopped cilantro. The dressing also includes some local varieties of chili pepper or chili, replaced by mustard in some locations in Central America.

In Peru, it is served with garnishes of boiled root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, cassava, or, very rarely, potatoes, and grains or seeds such as corn, legumes such as zarandaja, fried plantain, seaweed, and lettuce.

Image: Mulan Sukrisno

A colorful array of small Chinese dishes traditionally consumed for brunch, Dim Sum is commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine. In the 10th century, travelers frequented Cantonese teahouses for small-portion meals with tea. Cantonese dim sum was originally based on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China.

Dim Sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, and travel-friendly items, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late-night snacks. The term Dim Sum translates to "touch the heart."

Image: Viktor Ritsvall

Doner kebab is a dish of Turkish origin made of seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone, turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element. The operator uses a knife to slice thin shavings from the outer layer of the meat as it cooks.

The sliced meat of a doner kebab may be served on a plate with various accompaniments, stuffed into bread as a sandwich, or wrapped in a thin flatbread such as filo. Doner kebab has become popular around the world as a fast food dish sold by kebab shops, and is often called simply a "kebab." The term, donner kebab itself, translates to "roasted lamb."

Image: Alyssa Kowalski

An exotic dish that has become famous all over the world, Pad Thai is a rice noodle dish fried in a wok and commonly served as a street food. As Thailand's national dish, it is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, scrambled eggs, and bean sprouts.

Many of the ingredients on a Pad Thai dish are provided on the side as condiments, such as red chili pepper, lime wedges, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic chives, and other miscellaneous fresh vegetables. The term Pad translates to "fried".

Image: Bakd&Raw by Karolin Baitinger

Wiener schnitzel is made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet served without sauce.

It is one of the best-known specialties of Viennese cuisine and one of the national dishes of Austria.

This dish is prepared from veal slices, butterfly cut, lightly pounded flat, slightly salted, and rolled in flour, whipped eggs, and bread crumbs. Finally, the Schnitzel is fried until it is golden yellow. The term Wiener schnitzel translates, literally to "small, breaded, veal cutlet."