Top 16 Tales of Unexpected Discoveries That'll Leave You in Awe!

7. Parisian 'Time Capsule' Apartment Discovered Unaltered for Seventy Years

Location: France's Paris Year of discovery: 2013 Estimated value of the Boldini painting: $2 million* This flat was discovered in Paris, France, in 2013. It is a veritable time capsule. Mrs. De Florian, the apartment's owner, escaped during the chaos of World War II in the late 1930s. She never came back, and for seventy years the flat stayed empty.

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"Time Capsule" Paris Apartment @TheHouseofTuscany/Facebook: Found Untouched for 70 Years After De Florian passed away at the age of 91, the flat was dug up and, hidden beneath heavy dust, was discovered to be a treasure trove. Her numerous belongings, including a priceless artwork by 19th-century Italian artist Giovanni Boldini, had to be inventoried by experts. The entire flat was probably worth far more than the $2 million that the Boldini artwork alone brought in.

8. A 1,000-year-old sword is pulled out of a lake by an eight-year-old girl

Where: Sweden's Lake Vidostern Discovered Year: 2018. Estimated worth: $200–$500* In the summer of 2018, eight-year-old Saga Vanacek was playing in Sweden's Vidostern Lake when she stepped on something that felt like a stick. Feeling around her feet, she pulled on something till she pulled it out of the water. She then called her father to inform him she had found a sword.

A 1,000-year-old sword is pulled out of a lake by an eight-year-old girl. @Pinterest/CBC After the Vanaceks had the sword appraised, the Jonkopings Lans Museum determined that it was made before the Viking Era, about 400 or 50 A.D. For a long, Saga kept her incredible discovery a secret, but when she revealed it to her elementary school students, they celebrated with an exciting party.