During construction of a 38-storey apartment building in Melbourne, Australia, around 250000 artefacts artefacts were discovered, dating to the gold rush period of the recent Australian history. The artefacts were preserved under layers of concrete for decades hiding the site of the old Mistletoe Hotel.

Among the items uncovered by the team from Terra Culture led by Sarah Myers, were an ANZAC pin, possibly from a  World War I slouch hat, and even parts of an old jar of ointment claiming to be a cure for balding. The pieces tell the stories of Melbourne’s first European settlers and of the migrants suffering gold rush fever who inundated the city. Hundreds of alcohol bottles among the artefacts showed evidence of young single men wanting to drink and party.

(after SBS)