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39 Times People Discovered Surprising Things Left Inside Buildings By Previous Owners
Every old house has its secrets - from hidden treasures in the crawl space and secret doors to creepy basement passages and dark attics filled with ancient valuables. The history is all around us, and if you look hard enough, you can find a treasure trove inside your home. Below you'll see a list of people who made unintentional 'archeological' discoveries when on the task of home renovation and then found a way to put them to good use.
Some of the artifacts are small, like coins hidden in the wall, while others are more permanent features to the structure of the building, such as an old well in the floor and secret rooms. No matter the size we can all agree it's pretty cool to come across clues that tell us about times past, so scroll down below and enjoy these 'rare antiquities.' Don't forget to upvote your favs and may your treasure hunt be lucky!
P.S.: The story behind the razor blade slot that quite a few people find when home remodeling has a simple explanation - some houses built before the 1970s had these slits for razor disposal for two reasons. One was that the razors were dangerous to put in general trash, and the second was that people didn't think about littering and trash the way we do now. For them, waste used to 'magically' disappear, so dropping them into a secret place between your bathroom walls seemed like a great idea.
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#1
They Found The Old Bath Under Their Living Room
RELATED:
#2
Pulled Up The Carpet At The House, And Guess What I Found!
#3
Treasure In My Bathroom
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
Wow, wow wow. I wonder the story behind, how can one leave that ring? What happened to original owners!
#4
I Was Helping My Dad Move Into His New Office, When We Found A Trapdoor
#5
This Vintage Space Themed Wallpaper Found Under 3 Layers Of Other Wallpaper In An Old Farm House
#6
The Walgreens In My Neighborhood Used To Be A Bank And They Used Its Vault As Their Vitamin Section
#7
Friend Was Redecorating His New House And Found This Under A Layer Of Wallpaper
#8
Found A Paw Print On A Brick Wall
#9
The Table At This Pub Has A Well In The Middle Of It (England)
#10
Untouched 1800's Cemetery Preserved In The Basement Of A Tall Building Built Over It
Paul O'Connor 7 years ago
But they couldn't do the same for the viking archaelogical dig in Dublin, even though My Father wrote and told them of similar schemes. Buried forever under the hideous civic offices now.
Cat on a bike 7 years ago
Everybody would just tear it down or move it. It is awesome to leave it like this. I love it. Think of the Halloween parties...
mntncrone 7 years ago
Pretty sure that's "The Crypt" under the Center Church in New Haven. http://centerchurchonthegreen.org/history/crypt/
Lucinda Overhoussen 7 years ago
Yes it would be I'll impossible to get the foundations in for a tall building in. Crypt makes so much more sense.
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Denise Melek 7 years ago
You want a haunted house? Because that´s how you get a haunted house.
Ruth Hempsey 7 years ago
This was the basis of the plot for the movie Poltergeist. Houses built over a cemetery.
Bunzilla 7 years ago
This was done out of respect... the house in the Poltergeist was built over a cemetery with complete LACK of respect. Big diff.
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KT Trondsen 7 years ago
Wow that is so bizarre and extremely creepy! Like I'm envisioning night of the living dead. Where is this??
lindsayaotter 7 years ago
What?!? In the basement of a building?!? That is so funky? And creepy.
Barbara Cunningham-Kidder 1 year ago
This is actually the Center Church on the Green Churchyard in New Haven, Connecticut. The cemetery is from the 1600-1700s. In the 1800s, a new meeting house (church) was built over the cemetery grounds.
Janice Allen 5 years ago
That's good the graves weren't disturbed and they're protected from all weather.
Janice Allen 5 years ago
That's good they weren't disturbed and their graves are protected from all weather.
Enache Vlad 5 years ago
untouch?are u retards they fuking need to dig to make that tall building..idiots jizz
Peter Austin-Small 5 years ago
This is in the basement of the Center Church on the Green in New Haven, CT
Matthew Stolz 5 years ago
Not that I would care after I'm dead, but it would depress me to know that there was no sky over my grave anymore.
Sarah Wolcheski 6 years ago
This is in new haven ct, you can visit for free, it’s pretty neat. A church was built over it. Hundreds of other burial plots were relocated to create the town green, I believe it all was done 250-300 years ago.
Josie Coffman 7 years ago
i was like why so many mirrors? andddd then Realization... bet the building is haunted!
Dr. Carlos Dangercat 7 years ago
I went on a Roman tour of Cologne and there are a few artifacts that are sort of incongruously preserved in underground car parks.
Pollypocket81 7 years ago
I think its sad! Resting in peace in a field surrounded by nature one decade, in the basement of a city complex the next!
Sue Clasen 7 years ago
At least they were respected in their eternal rest. Hope that will give away good vibrations.
Sarah Kotora 7 years ago
my school actually has a small cemetery on the grounds that we fenced off out of respect
Alexandra Perry 7 years ago
Ok. I would hate to work or live in that building for fear of the ghosts being pissed at having their final resting spot so callously built over like this!
Kim Lorton 7 years ago
Totally cool! Didn’t disturb the final resting places and cause hauntings!
Andrea Delden 7 years ago
I tnihk this is lovely; it’s better than destroying the graves. When I looked at this picture I found it very calming. They are all at peace.
Wendy Emlinger 7 years ago
Brilliantly clever! The graveyard is undisturbed and can still be visited. Beats tearing up old cemeteries and moving the graves. Plus the tombstones are now safe from the weather. Genealogists must love this.
SandaPanda 7 years ago
At least you get a warning in The Sims if your house is on the top of a cemetery
Susann Campbell 7 years ago
When they come out at any time they will wonder what happened to the stars and the sun. Then some one is going to be is a lot of trouble times.
Ashley Fernandes 7 years ago
Yeah I wouldn't want to live/work in a building with a cemetery in the basement.
Rich Auntie Skeleton 7 years ago
You son of a b***h! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn't you? You son of a b***h, you left the bodies and you only moved the headstones! You only moved the headstones! Why! WHYYYYYYYY!
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Zenozenobee 7 years ago
I wonder what kind of building it is. A supermerket toping a cemetery would be weird but habitations wouldn't be creepy.
mntncrone 7 years ago
Its under a church. http://centerchurchonthegreen.org/history/crypt/
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Sarah Wolcheski 7 years ago
I’m 99% sure this is the basement of a church in new haven ct. still creepy that they built a church over a cemetery, but a bit better than a random building?
Shelly Binkley 7 years ago
Well II guess that’s better than what our builder did with his other land he built homes on and that is move the Native American buried there. Which in my book is a NONO!
#11
My Grandparents Have A Glassed-Over Well In Their Kitchen
They bought the house 10 years ago, they stripped it down and they found it then. They thought it was quite unique and wanted it as a feature, it’s about 25 foot deep and connects to a small old river that ran under a long time ago. Fortunately I have yet to see anything down there!
#12
Our New Apartment Has A Little Milk Door Under The Cabinets
#13
My Friend Decided To Replace Her Old Carpet And She Found A Cellar Door And A Cool Surprise
Aaron Kara 7 years ago
I would be worried that the 'surprise' waiting for me after opening a secret cellar door would be eternal damnation and pure unbridled evil carnage...
#14
My Apartment Is An Old Police Station And Still Has The Original Cell Doors But Painted
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
I will probably paint black bars on it to make it more realistic!
#15
Found Some Friends In A Mile-Long Tunnel That Travels Beneath My Apartment Building
#16
Lost Hippie Mural Found Under My Flooded House
#17
Found A Message While Removing Our Cork Floor Tiles
#18
My Living Room Was Built Around A Huge Sandstone Rock
#19
This Wall Broke Exposing Years Of Layers Of Paint
#20
Found Some Nice Drawings Under The Wallpaper I'm Removing
#21
100-Year-Old Elevator Handle I Saved
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
I have so much urge to give it a Go! Like they show it in movies!
#22
These "Tom And Jerry" Type Mouse Holes Gnawed In A House Built In 1741
#23
Uncovered At A Times Square Construction Site
#24
I've Been Living In My House And I Just Noticed My Back Door Handle Is A Spoon
#25
The House I'm Staying In Has Kept Its Original Well As A Feature
#26
So I Just Moved Into A New Apartment, And Made A Big Discovery
#27
While Renovating My Basement We Found This Painting On The Cement Behind The Wall
#28
I Recently Moved Into A 70s Porn Motif Dream Home. This Is My Bathtub
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
Honestly, to me it looks like just a wash basin, may its the perspective which is making it look small or that is really small bath tub for midgets!
#29
Apparently, Disposing Of Old Razor Blades Inside Your Wall Was Acceptable In The 1950's
Aaron Kara 7 years ago
In their defence it is labelled 'razor blades'.' Where else could you possibly dispose of them?
#30
This Mail Slot In A Building I Was In Today Sends The Mail Down 17 Stories To The Basement. Original From 1929
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
I love it the way it is maintained and preserved. A gateway to 1929!
#31
My House Still Has Old-Fashioned Light Switches From Its Original Construction
#32
This Building Has The Original 1909 Electrical Switches
Night Owl 7 years ago (edited)
That's smart. I bet they are still better (better quality, made of better materials, more durable) then new ones. As long there's still someone who knows how they work and how to fix them and as long you can find spare parts for them... OK that might be a problem. But as decoration and for a history lesson it works
#33
Found This 20-Year-Old Promise Hidden Under The Wallpaper In Our New House
#34
Friend Tore Down His Wall For Renovations And Found This Mural On Another Wall Behind It
#35
My House Used To Be A Bank, So We Use The Old Safe/Vault As A Basement
#36
There's A Random Chain Embedded In The Wall Of My 1930s-Era Home
#37
A House My Girlfriend And I Looked At Had A Shower In The Guest Room
#38
The Fan In My Toilet (Probably From The 70s) Has The Same Logo As Beats By Dre
#39
My House Still Has The Original Light Switches
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What do you think ?
Fia gale 7 years ago
In my house we found a door behind the fitted wardrobe leading into a room with chains hanging from the ceiling
Anne 7 years ago
This needs pictures! (Assuming they were for fun.. not torture.. was the police called?) ok this needs a lot more explaining!
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KT Trondsen 7 years ago
Love these kind of threads! please put more of this up bored panda, loved it!
Mary McConnell 7 years ago
My first apartment was in a 2-room school house. Found the original slate blackboard under the wallpaper. Years later, I'm now a home renovator and found vintage porn in the walls. I'm sure the guy that put it there thought he was doing some future guy a favor.
Elspeth Mitchell [Student] 4 years ago
You can maybe do fake school with stuff
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Sarah Double 7 years ago
I found this note behind written behind a kitchen cabinet i had removed in my Circa 1900's house.
Turns out the previous owners thought it "would be funny" when they updated the kitchen. Luckily they decided against putting a chalk outline of a body under the bath when they remodelled that.........!!!! Words fail me. IMG_5396-5...0c625b.jpg 
Karen Merkel 7 years ago
We found an old Sears catalogue in the attic of our old farm house dating back to 1939. Amazing prices.
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
When travelling to Asian countries, I visited many forts and palaces built my kings/queens. While roaming inside I always wondered, if I press a brick or step on something, which will open a vault and I will find lots of gold/diamonds hidden inside and then I will be crazy rich for my entire life, sadly it never happened and I am still stuck with this computer!
Elspeth Mitchell [Student] 4 years ago
I found a well in my school. It is in room 113. They put bricks and the floor of the classrooms. It is now a chromebook space
Shelly Binkley 7 years ago
I put a time capsule in my last house after buying it and updating it. M
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago (edited)
When they remodeled my bathroom in 2014 I placed copies of the 2010/2012/2014 SF Giants World Series victory newspapers in a plastic bag with powdered silica in the wall above all the plumbing so that someday someone will have the joy of discovery. I also included a letter with all the information I have about the building that I've lived in since 1982.
Jonathon Purnell 5 years ago
We found a message in a bottle in the ocean once. It was from the 1600's.
Kim Lorton 7 years ago
Such amazing and odd things people hid in walls and cubbies! I love it!
Michelle Swank 7 years ago
I heard about a house where, after doing some renovations, found that under the house were the ancient ruins of the theater where Emperor Nero forced his citizens to watch him perform.
Brian Leahy 7 years ago
We had renovations done on our house and when we had a wall moved, found empty beer cans and McDonald's burger wrappers from the 70s.
Jonathan Constant 7 years ago
Wish this were a list. My parents have a big cartoon cowboy drawn on the wall underneath their stairs. There's a door that's always covered it as long as I can remember. I never noticed it until I was a teen but they said it was there when they moved in... they've lived there more than 30 years.
Fia gale 7 years ago
In my house we found a door behind the fitted wardrobe leading into a room with chains hanging from the ceiling
Anne 7 years ago
This needs pictures! (Assuming they were for fun.. not torture.. was the police called?) ok this needs a lot more explaining!
Load More Replies... KT Trondsen 7 years ago
Love these kind of threads! please put more of this up bored panda, loved it!
Mary McConnell 7 years ago
My first apartment was in a 2-room school house. Found the original slate blackboard under the wallpaper. Years later, I'm now a home renovator and found vintage porn in the walls. I'm sure the guy that put it there thought he was doing some future guy a favor.
Elspeth Mitchell [Student] 4 years ago
You can maybe do fake school with stuff
Load More Replies... Sarah Double 7 years ago
I found this note behind written behind a kitchen cabinet i had removed in my Circa 1900's house.
Turns out the previous owners thought it "would be funny" when they updated the kitchen. Luckily they decided against putting a chalk outline of a body under the bath when they remodelled that.........!!!! Words fail me. IMG_5396-5...0c625b.jpg
Karen Merkel 7 years ago
We found an old Sears catalogue in the attic of our old farm house dating back to 1939. Amazing prices.
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
When travelling to Asian countries, I visited many forts and palaces built my kings/queens. While roaming inside I always wondered, if I press a brick or step on something, which will open a vault and I will find lots of gold/diamonds hidden inside and then I will be crazy rich for my entire life, sadly it never happened and I am still stuck with this computer!
Elspeth Mitchell [Student] 4 years ago
I found a well in my school. It is in room 113. They put bricks and the floor of the classrooms. It is now a chromebook space
Shelly Binkley 7 years ago
I put a time capsule in my last house after buying it and updating it. M
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago (edited)
When they remodeled my bathroom in 2014 I placed copies of the 2010/2012/2014 SF Giants World Series victory newspapers in a plastic bag with powdered silica in the wall above all the plumbing so that someday someone will have the joy of discovery. I also included a letter with all the information I have about the building that I've lived in since 1982.
Jonathon Purnell 5 years ago
We found a message in a bottle in the ocean once. It was from the 1600's.
Kim Lorton 7 years ago
Such amazing and odd things people hid in walls and cubbies! I love it!
Michelle Swank 7 years ago
I heard about a house where, after doing some renovations, found that under the house were the ancient ruins of the theater where Emperor Nero forced his citizens to watch him perform.
Brian Leahy 7 years ago
We had renovations done on our house and when we had a wall moved, found empty beer cans and McDonald's burger wrappers from the 70s.
Jonathan Constant 7 years ago
Wish this were a list. My parents have a big cartoon cowboy drawn on the wall underneath their stairs. There's a door that's always covered it as long as I can remember. I never noticed it until I was a teen but they said it was there when they moved in... they've lived there more than 30 years.
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