Who wouldn’t want to uncover buried treasure? We imagine walking on a sandy beach, metal detector in one hand and a shovel in the other; Dreams of jewels the size of our fists and chests overflowing with gold bouncing around our heads. However, few would have expected the treasure unearthed beneath the NYC street, crossed by thousands of people every day/

Performing maintenance on a century-old water main, workers were shocked when they found the buried secret that had been waiting for them for over a hundred years. Beneath the pavement and pounding feet of New York’s many denizens, lay a hidden burial chamber over 200 years old.

The renovations were part of a move to revamp the city’s aging infrastructure, from traffic lights to sewer manholes. The vaults were massive for being so well hidden over such a long time. Measuring 15 feet wide and 20 feet long, the vault had been sealed with the remains inside. The first of two vaults contained the remains of 10 bodiesKomichel johnson while the second contained twenty intact coffins.

Working closely with investigators, the mystery of the vault has yet to be revealed. Its size and capacity has baffled locals, put off by the sudden and eerie discovery of a graveyard near such a popular park. However, researchers have reminded us that, as with many parks in the city, large plots of land routinely served as burial sites in the early days of the city.

While scientists work to uncover the mysteries behind the bones, the rumors surrounding the vault of bones continues to swirl. Scientists are more than pleased with the find, though. Rarely are bones so intact from this long ago. The wealth of knowledge made available by this discovery could yield some interesting information about the Big Apple when it was just a seed.