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Man Discovers A WW2 Treasure Chest Buried In His Yard

Lukichev Dmitry was only trying to dig a hole for his new outhouse when stumbled onto a priceless piece of history.

The location of Dmitry's summer home in Besh-Kí¼ngí¶y, Kyrgystan was once part of Soviet Russia, which explains what a metal chest was doing buried on his property. When Dmitry's shovel first hit the box, he must have assumed it was just a rock. But a little digging revealed the treasure chest in all its glory.

"The box was lifted to the surface: it was not very heavy, but judging by the sounds, there was something inside clattering, while the box was being pulled out of the hole," the website English Russia quotes Dmitry. The unlikely treasure hunter managed to open the box and look inside.

What he discovered was a time capsule from World War 2. The box must have belonged to a German soldier who was fighting on the Eastern Front during the 1940s. Dmitry found the soldier's possessions and clothes inside, along with a few very surprising artifacts...

While the box and its contents date back to at least 1944, everything inside was miraculously preserved thanks to a rubber seal.

Warm clothes, including this fur-lined hat, were found in the trunk.ethan_kahn / Imgur

The soldier's clothes and even his wallet looked good as new, and historians were able to learn some clues about the chest's owner by analyzing his belongings. His uniform, the money in his wallet and his ID cards all prove he was a German soldier.

The caduceus symbol on the uniform's soldier means its owner was a doctor.ethan_kahn / Imgur
Historians hope this name tag will help track down the soldier's ancestors.ethan_kahn / Imgur

Looking closer at his uniform, the man seems to have been a doctor in the German army's Corps of Medicine, who had the rank of Captain. His winter clothes and sweaters were packed in the box, along with extra pieces for his uniform.

For some reason, the soldier never got to enjoy his cigars and rum.ethan_kahn / Imgur
Two bottles of "Jamaica Rum."ethan_kahn / Imgur

There was even two boxes of cigars, two bottles of rum and a five reichmark note, all still waiting to be used more than 60 years after the trunk was buried. Historians hope the soldier's name tag will help them track down his descendants.

Share this incredible find with someone you know!

[H/T: English Russia]

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