Birmingham’s unique and cultural history is one of the reasons why Brummies love their city.
From huge bands and musical genres such as Black Sabbath and heavy meatal, to great television including Peaky Blinders as well as the Jewellery Quarter, which produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK - Birmingham has certainly given a lot to the world.
But every now and then, some people in the city stumble upon rather unusual historical discoveries - some disturbing, and others exciting.
Earlier this week, West Midlands mayor Andy Street posted pictures on social media of an ancient well and Victorian wall were discovered by working on two new train stations which are set to open is Decmeber this year.
With this in mind, we’ve decided to look at some of the most unexpected discoveries made by workers, architects and the general public over the years.
Here are 7 shocking and unexpected historical discoveries in Birmingham
1. Boudicca’s remains at McDonalds in kings Norton
Archaeologists believe the remains of the warrior queen Boudicca may be at the site of a McDonalds in kings Norton. The grave of Boudicca, who fought the Romans to defend Britain, is unknown, although archaeologist believe she could be at the site in Birmingham. The McDonald’s site is alleged to be close to Boudicca’s final battle. She was once thought to have been buried between platforms 9 and 10 in King’s Cross station in London. There is no evidence for this and no traces of her have been found in this or any other location as of yet
2. Bodies discovered under the Bullring shopping centre
As the redevelopment of the Bullring took place from 1997 to 2000, archaeological excavations were conducted at the site. Archaeologists made numerous discoveries during the dig, including many leather tanning pits dating to the 17th and 18th centuries which were found on the Park Street car park site. Burials had also been discovered in the churchyard of St Martin’s dating to the 18th and 19th century. 857 skeletons were found by the workers. Disturbingly, the bodies of a young man and woman, who were said to be aged between 18 and 22 were also discovered, but they were actually found just outside the St Martin’s graveyard site, which suggests they had been buried underneath a floor or a back garden at the time. Of course, this means they could have been murdered and were denied proper Christian burials.
3. Burial ground at HS2 site
In 2019, more than 6,500 bodies were dug up on the HS2 Curzon Street station site. 70 archaeologists worked on the project and discovered the thousands of human remains from the burial ground where the HS2 station is being built. The burial ground was opened in 1810 as an overflow cemetery for St Martin-in-the-Bullring and remained open for only 63 years, closing to public burials in 1873. Archaeologists began to examine the skeletons in closer detail, alongside artefacts discovered within the burial ground, including figurines, coins, toys and necklaces.
4. Prospector finds gold in South Birmingham river
In January 2023, Andy Brooke, a former soldier from Birmingham, says he found specks of gold in a secret river in the south of the city. The location, which Mr Brooke chose to keep secret, was reportedly listed by the British Geological Survey as having signs of gold. The gold prospector says the stream is located near a gold course in the south of the city. He featured the specks of gold on his Youtube channel One Man and his Pan”