93. Rice Farmer Unearths a Legendary Relic Made From Pure Gold

Location: Shikanoshima Island, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Year Discovered: 1784
Est. Value: $6,010* (Base Value Today)
Known as the King of Na Gold Seal, a rice farmer found this treasure while working the fields in 1784 on Shikanoshima Island in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture. The seal is made from 95%-purity gold, and it has been designated an official National Treasure of Japan.

Rice Farmer Unearthed A Legendary Relic Made From Pure Gold /acdn.list25.com
The seal was cast in China and gifted by the Han Emperor to a Japanese envoy. How the seal wound up in an irrigation ditch centuries later is unknown. The seal was buried underneath huge, boxy stones that required two people to lift. When it was discovered, the Kuroda Clan, the leaders of the region, immediately kept it until agreeing to donate it to the city of Fukuoka two centuries later.

94. First Tyrannosaur Embryos Discovered

Location: Alberta, Montana
Year Discovered: 2021
Est. Value: $2,000*
This very Jurassic-Park-like discovery took place a few years ago in Alberta, Montana. Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs were some of the biggest in the kingdom, as they could grow to twenty feet in height and run at a speed of seventeen miles per hour.

First Tyrannosaur Embryos Discovered ©Alan Titus/Bureau of land management / AP
The first T. rex skeleton was found in the early 1900s. Over a century later, also in the same region, researchers discovered Tyrannosaurus embryos. These fossilized baby dinos provided scientists with an excellent opportunity to learn about young T. rex dinosaurs and their development. Juvenile T. rex dinosaurs are very rare to find, so scientists all around the world were immensely thrilled at this discovery.

95. Man Remodels Bathroom and Finds a Live Missile

Location: St. Francis, Wisconsin
Year Discovered: 2011
Est. Value: $22,344* (V-2 Rocket Price)
William Wittman, a seventy-year-old retiree in St. Francis, Wisconsin, was remodeling his bathroom when he made an unusual discovery in one of the walls. He found a live missile. Immediately, he called his wife to tell her about what he found and she, in turn, phoned the police.

Man Remodels Bathroom And Finds A Live Missile u/boykob/Reddit.com
The twenty-inch missile was picked up by the police bomb squad and taken to the St. Francis Public Works Department for detonation. Wittman’s house was once owned by a WWII veteran whose son was an avid memorabilia collector (as well as a Korean War vet). He must have gotten his hands on a live missile and, loath to give it up, hid it in the walls for safekeeping.

96. Whale Fossils Discovered on a Farm 200 Miles Away From the Ocean

Location: Charlotte, Vermont
Year Discovered: 1849
Est. Value: $38,488*
When you think of where you would expect to find the fossils of a sea creature, the obvious guess is buried underneath the bottom of an ocean, lake, or other large body of water. That is why railway workers digging underneath a farm in Vermont were so stunned when they found the fossils of whales in the ground.

Whale Fossils Discovered On A Farm 200 Miles Away From The Ocean ©twabian/Shutterstock
The farm itself was 200 miles away from the ocean, and the bones were ensconced in blue-gray clay. The farm owners later sold the bones to a history museum for $1,000 ($38,488 today). It’s likely the whale was buried there thousands of years before, when the geography of the earth looked far different, and many land areas were once water.

97. Australian Wallabies Found in Ireland

Location: County Dublin, Ireland
Year Discovered: 1950s/1960s
Est. Value: N/A
Wallabies are macropods that are native to both Australia and New Guinea. Though native to those areas, they somehow wound up in Ireland, and they are thriving on the remote island off the coast of County Dublin.

Australian Wallabies Found In Ireland ©Martin Pelanek/Shutterstock
The island became the home of these unexpected Aussie natives after a wealthy, well-known family, the Barings, decided they wanted to bring them back to Ireland to raise them. At the time, the Barings’ son, Rupert, had plans to open a zoo, but those plans were made in error. As a result, the wallabies were never caged—they were sent to an island where they now roam free.

98. Lifeboat Found on World’s Most Remote Island

Location: Bouvet Island, Norway
Year Discovered: 1964
Est. Value: $1,000-$30,000*
Bouvet Island is famous for being the world’s most remote island. It is located 944 miles away from Antarctica, as that is the nearest landmass to it. It technically belongs to Norway, but it is truly abandoned.

Lifeboat Was Found On World’s Most Remote Island @tomekmoss/Pinterest
In an unusual turn of events, in 1964, an abandoned lifeboat was found on the island. Who shipwrecked onto this cold, inhospitable land? The lifeboat is thought to have belonged to a reconnaissance vessel from the Soviet Union. Not much else is known about the story behind this random lifeboat, though perhaps scientists will find out more in the future as an expedition to this uninhabited island has been planned for the beginning of 2023.

99. The Oldest Homo Erectus Skull

Location: Drimolen Paleo Cave System, Johannesburg, South Africa
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: N/A (Human Remains)
While digging through the million-year-old Drimolen Cave System in South Africa, paleontologists discovered the bones of people who lived millions of years ago. The primal cavs have been the site of 900 bones and fossils from early humans, though none as old as the shattered skull discovered in 2020.

The Oldest Homo Erectus Skull Public domain/commons.wikimedia.org
Researchers digging through the caverns found a two-million-year-old skull fragment from a Homo erectus. This was hundreds of thousands of years older than other H. erectus fossils found. This was an exciting discovery for scientists, as it provided new insight into just how long humans have been around.

100. $50,000 And 50-Year-Old Whiskey Found Under Floorboards

Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Year Discovered: 2015
Est. Value: $64,500*
This story has a lot of twists and turns to it, and it begins in a house in Phoenix, Arizona. A couple was renovating their home when they discovered, hidden beneath the floorboards, $50,000 in cash and fifty-year-old bourbon (likely valued at around $14,500).

$50,000 And 50-Year-Old Whiskey Found Under Floorboards /mirror.co.uk
But, was this find all it was cracked up to be? According to the Independent, the find was “probably a hoax.” Sleuths who looked closely saw clues, like a modern safe and more, that indicated that this could be a “prank” (AZCentral). We’ll let you decide whether you believe this incredible treasure find is real or not.

101. The Baghdad Batteries

Location: Khujut Rabu, Iraq
Year Discovered: 1936
Est. Value: Unknown
The Baghdad Battery was discovered in 1936 in Khujut Rabu, Iraq near Ctesiphon, the former capital of the Parthia and Sasanian Empires, the eras from which the Battery is thought to date. The Baghdad Battery is the name used for a set of three artifacts—a tube of copper, a rod of iron, and a ceramic pot—discovered together.

The Baghdad Batteries @r/interestingasfuck/Reddit.com
The National Museum of Iraq’s Wilhelm Konig thought that the object could have operated as some kind of battery, though other scientists rejected that claim. Others believed it may have been an ancient vessel in which sacred scrolls were stored. So far, the true purpose of the 2,000-year-old Baghdad Battery has yet to be revealed.

102. The Discovery of Chris McCandless

Location: Sushana River
Year Discovered: 1992
Est. Value: N/A
While this discovery didn’t hold any value in the traditional sense, it became part of American cultural history. Chris McCandless, a young college grad, decided to travel North America and Alaska in the early ‘90s. Although he did well to travel in various different locations solo, McCandless eventually met his fate in the Alaskan bush.

The Discovery of Chris McCandless @Wayne Westerberg/Pinterest
McCandless eventually set up camp in an abandoned bus he found close to the Sushana River. The events of what transpired next are murky at best, but moose hunters found McCandless’ form in late summer ‘92, having passed most likely due to starvation. The story was later turned into a Hollywood movie starring Emile Hirsch.

103. Eccentric Doctor Hides a Car Worth $8.5 Million in his Dusty Garage for Decades

Location: Northumberland, England
Year Discovered: 2007
Est. Value: $8.5 million*
In his last few years, Dr. Harold Carr was a recluse, and even his children didn’t know what he was up to. The orthopedic surgeon passed away in 2007, and, when his kids began to go through his estate, they found a shocking surprise.

Eccentric Doctor Hides a Car Worth $8.5 Million in his Dusty Garage for Decades @littlethingscom/Pinterest
Carr had hidden a 1937 Bugatti 57S Atalante, one of just seventeen in existence, in his garage. The car was valued at $8.5 million. Carr had purchased the vehicle from a Northumberland lord in the mid-1950s, and he kept it in his garage for decades, though he did drive it for a short while in the 1960s.

104. Lost Mural Hidden Behind a Wall in Italian Town Hall

Location: Florence, Italy
Year Discovered: 2012
Est. Value: $100-$400 million*
In 2012 in Florence, Italy, researchers probed behind the walls of the town’s City Hall and made a surprising discovery. They found a mural created by famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, revealing yet another masterpiece from the painting legend.

Lost Mural Hidden Behind a Wall in Italian Town Hall ©Heritage Images/Getty Images
The high-tech project authenticated the sixteenth-century fresco, which has been hidden for centuries without detection. Some believe that the mural commemorates the fifteenth-century victory Florence achieved over Milan at Anghiari, a medieval Tuscan town. Why exactly the Da Vinci mural was frescoed over by Florence is unknown. The fresco, though beautiful, is unfinished, as Da Vinci left Florence in 1506.          

105. Mysterious ‘Beach’ Appears in the Middle of the Tunisian Desert

Location: Tunisia
Year Discovered: 2014
Est. Value: Priceless to locals
When you’re in the desert, the last thing you’d expect to see is a beach. And yet, a mysterious oasis randomly appeared in Tunisia, much to the joy of locals. The beach, named Gafsa, was a godsend for people in the drought-ridden region.

Mysterious ‘Beach’ Appears in the Middle of Tunisian Desert @Tunisie Voyage et Loisir/Youtube
Shepherds discovered Gafsa Beach in 2014. Although the murky-green waters were labeled carcinogenic by authorities, locals haven’t been able to resist diving into the lake. Some blame seismic activity that has caused groundwater to emerge, while others disagree. Either way, there’s no denying that Gafsa has been extremely exciting for those living in the Tunisian desert.

106. Couple Finds Old Hot Tub Under Their Living Room

Location: Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Year Discovered: 2020
Est. Value: $8,000-$25,000*
Mark and Jenny Rosman bought their home in 2017, and, when they pulled up the floors during a renovation project, they found a blue hot tub. The two refurbished the hot tub in 2020, and they said that they were “shocked and overjoyed” to find such a random addition underneath their living room.

Couple Finds Old Hot Tub Under Their Living Room @boredpanda/Pinterest
The Wisconsin couple purchased the home from an elderly woman. The woman hadn’t used the hot tub since she’d gotten older, so she turned the area into an office/sitting room. The Rosmans dug it up, and now they have a $8,000-$25,000 feature for free in their home (though it needs a clean-up).

107. 400-Year-Old Skull Found in Attic of French Tax Collector

Location: Paris, France
Year Discovered: 2010
Est. Value: N/A
Henry IV of France ruled 400 years ago, and he was the father of Louis XIV, a monarch known as the Sun King of France. Henry IV had a tough reign. He survived twelve assassination attempts, only to be felled by the thirteenth when a religious zealot attacked his carriage when it had stalled in Les Halles.

400-Year Old Skull Found in Attic of French Tax Collector @buzzfeed/Pinterest
Hundreds of years later, Henry IV’s head turned up in the attic of a French tax collector. It was discovered by two journalists who had heard rumors and clues as to where this French monarch’s head was hidden. Later, the head was given to descendants of Henry IV, likely so that they could bury them.

108. Mystery Hole in UK Garden Leads to Strange Discovery

Location: The U.K.
Year Discovered: 2016
Est. Value: Unknown
A hole in the backyard can be a sign of a foundational issue with the home, so, when Emma and Kevin James of the U.K. found such a blemish, they investigated it. The hole in their garden started as a divot before becoming a chasm when they tried to excavate it.

Mystery Hole in UK Garden Leads to Strange Discovery ©Mimadeo/Shutterstock
The couple looked inside and found a set of rusty stairs that led deep underground. Or so they assume, as neither member of the couple is willing to investigate the hole themselves. So far, it remains a mystery, as calls to city officials, utility companies, and even the home’s original builders have turned up empty as to what this chasm is and how it got there.