Seven amazing old treasures discovered by accident

Underground city, Turkey

The underground city of Derinkuyu. Photo: Instagram

In 1963 a Turkish man who knocked down a wall in his basement managed to discover an entire city underground.

Now a popular tourist destination, the underground city of Derinkuyu goes down 18 storeys and 85 metres.

It’s made up of a complex network of kitchens, stables, churches, tombs, wells, communal rooms and schools, joined by about 600 internal entrances.

Experts estimate it was created during the Byzantine era in 780-1180AD and was most likely used as a bunker to protect inhabitants from the Arab–Byzantine wars.

Fossils, Brisbane

A small freshwater snail found embedded in oil shale from the Geebung site. Photo: Queensland Museum

In 2013 a team of road workers in Brisbane accidentally unearthed fossils of ancient crocodiles, fish, shells and plants dating back more than 50 million years.

Researchers, who previously had no idea that the site existed, were reportedly more than a little excited about what the discoveries could reveal about a relatively unknown period for life on earth.

The fossils represent plants and animals that were alive 15 million years after the death of the dinosaurs.

They were found in a layer of oil shale 15 metres underground during the construction of a new rail crossing in the suburb of Geebung.

Mural, Melbourne

A Mirka Mora mural uncovered in a Melbourne restaurant. Photo: Jason South

In the former Balzac cafe in East Melbourne a mural by well-known Australian artist Mirka Mora was uncovered last year.

Business owner Gus McAllister told The Age he was renovating the second-floor function room of the venue – now a stylish bar and eatery called Tippler & Co – when he uncovered the lost gem.

“I took down a little section [of the wall] and all of a sudden I could see the little face,” Mr McAllister said. “I kept on ripping away the plaster and it just kept on getting bigger.”

The mural, which had actually been covered up twice, is now proudly on display to customers.

Chalkboard drawings, Oklahoma, US

100-year-old chalk drawings were found in an Oklahoma high school. Photo: Oklahoma City Public Schools/ Washington Post.

In 2015 a series of 100-year-old chalkboard drawings were found in Emerson High School in Oklahoma, in the US.

Contractors replacing the chalkboards with white boards found the drawings on another set of chalkboards behind.

The principal said there was a lesson on pilgrims in every classroom, and the names of students in detention had been written on the board with the date December 1917.

Some things have changed over the last century – the handwriting was much neater back then – and the drawings included a no-longer-used circular multiplication technique.

Neon light, Los Angeles, US

The old neon light that was found in Clifton’s Cafeteria in LA. Photo: Instagram

A neon lamp that was switched on in a Los Angeles cafe during the Great Depression was discovered by Clifton’s Cafeteria owner Andrew Meieran – still running 77 years later.

The corner of the room was partitioned but for some reason the light never switched off, until it was found in 2012.

It long outlived the lifespan of a typical neon light, which would usually break after 20 years.

It turned out to be an expensive hidden discovery though, with the owner estimating the light racked up $US17,000 ($21,000) worth of electricity over the years.

WWII bomb, Germany

Germany conducted its largest evacuation since World War II when an unexploded bomb was found in Frankfurt in September. Photo: youtube/reuters tv

Earlier this month the German city of Frankfurt had to evacuate 60,000 residents after an unexploded bomb with more than 1.4 tonnes of explosive was found on a building site.

The bomb had been dropped by British forces during the Second World War but failed to explode and was successfully defused by German experts who estimated it had enough power to flatten a city block.

Since the 1940s it has been a relatively common occurrence for bombs to be dug up in European cities, particularly in Poland, Germany and Britain.

Vintage car collection, France

The vintage car collection uncovered on a French farm. Photo: Artcurial Motorcars

When a pair of auctioneers were called in to value a few old cars on a French farm after the owner died, they had no idea the value of what they had come across.

In total they found a collection of 60 expensive vintage cars including Ferraris and Maseratis in warehouses and makeshift tin shelters.

The rare collection had been left untouched on the farm, unknown to family members, for nearly 50 years and was thought to be worth up to £12 million ($20 million).