650-Year Old Buried Treasure Found in Austrian Backyard

An Austrian man who has been identified as just Andreas K. is one lucky bastard. While digging around in his yard back in 2007, he managed to find a treasure trove of jewelry and ornaments buried 650 years ago.

Excited authorities have called the discovery a fairy-tale find, saying in a statement Friday that it amounts to "one of the qualitatively most significant discoveries of medieval treasure in Austria."

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It described the ornaments as "one of the qualitatively most significant discoveries of medieval treasure in Austria."

The statement gave no details and an automated telephone message said the office had closed early on Good Friday. But the Austria Press Agency cited memorials office employee Karin Derler as saying the man came across the "breathtaking" objects years ago while digging in his back yard to expand a small pond.

The weekly Profil identified the man only as Andreas K. from Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, and said he asked not to be named.

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While he found the ornaments in 2007, Andreas K. did not report it to the memorials office until after  rediscovering the dirt-encrusted objects in a basement box while packing up after selling his house two years ago, said Profil. The soil had dried and some had fallen off, revealing precious metal and jewels underneath.

He initially posted photos on the Internet, where collectors alerted him to the potential value of the pieces, leading him to pack them in a plastic bag and lug them to the memorials office, the magazine said in its Friday edition.

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Neither Profil nor the memorials office statement said when Andreas K. first alerted Austrian authorities and it was unclear why they waited until Friday to announce the discovery.

Memorials office president Barbara Neubauer told Profil the objects were a "sensational find."


[SFGate image credit: AP Photo/Bundesdenkmalamt/Bettina Sidonie]