'I went metal detecting in garden for fun – I couldn't believe chilling discovery I made' – The Mirror US
A man has made a chilling discovery after metal detecting around his friend's garden for some 'harmless fun'. Expecting to come across nothing more than a couple of bottle caps, the pair couldn't believe their eyes when they unearthed a huge chest.
He explained how the metal detector started beeping and the two excitedly got out their shovels and started to dig up the ground beneath them. On Reddit, he said: "My friend and I were searching around his property with my metal detector when we came across this.
"It took a while to get it out. We thought It was a coffin at first but it's too small and it was unmarked. I think it may be the past land owner's chest."
The discovery was made near his friend's home in the Mojave Desert, California – but confused over what it is, they have taken to social media for answers. He added: "There was nothing inside the chest except that it was filled to the brim with dirt.
"In the dirt was a few plastic flowers. I don't understand the SS markings? And the fact it was full of dirt. Why would someone bury a chest full of dirt?"
The SS marking was used by the Schutzstaffel, a major organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, during the Second World War. Commenting on his post, one user said: "What a cool historical item. Obviously Nazi’s are not cool, don’t get me wrong.
"But this item is special in so many ways: it’s directly connected to one of the most prominent historical events of all time (World War Two) and it’s encapsulated in endless mystery (how it got there, why it was buried, who buried it, when did they bury it, etc etc etc).
"The coolest artefacts are the ones that conjure the most thought and imagination in the viewer, this one certainly does that for me." Another user added: "During the war troops used whatever boxes they could get their hands on to ship trophies home in. Probably how this got there, does it have an address painted somewhere on the outside?"
A third user said: "They used to film WWII TV action shows like Combat! in the Mohave. May be a prop."
One more user added: "I can’t imagine how excited you’d be if you found a treasure chest only to find it full of dirt." After learning more about their find, the man added: "Not only were we completely speechless.
"We are avid collectors in WW2 Militaria. And to find this, buried under his yard?! It felt like a fever dream."
