The next time you park your car, you may want to think twice. Or, sprinkle some holy water before you get out. Secrets may be lying underneath.
It is true. Over the years, some highly interesting things have been buried under parking lots — all sorts of things.
For one, the lost remains of King Richard III. Yes, he was found under a blacktop lot located in Leicester, England. He died from his wounds in a battle in 1485, a battle that ended the War of the Roses. His body was put on display very briefly and then quickly interned into some shabby grave, right there, at the Greyfriars Friary Church.
Time passed, the fallen king remained, even after the church was demolished. As such, his simple memorial was lost altogether, and a parking lot rolled right over him.
But apparently, King Richard III has a lot of fans. Enough to form the Richard III Society and led by the University of Leicester. In 2012, they demanded an excavation and found some skeletal remains with a twisted spine that matched the king’s description. But that wasn’t enough. They performed DNA tests which then confirmed that those bones were undoubtedly his. They waited a few years later, for some reason, before he was given a more royal burial in a new monument in Leicester Cathedral. The burial happened in 2015.
And you can park your car on that.
You can also roll over to this one. Adolf Hitler’s Bunker.
Many people knew about his bunker. It was extensive, a place for him to hide, like the rat he was. He spent his last days there before shooting himself as the Soviets descended upon Berlin. After the war, there were many attempts to destroy it. The East German government tried detonating it in 1959, but much of it remained. But by the time they did this, the Berlin Wall had been built near the bunker, and it was overlooked but not forgotten, I suppose.
Then, years later, after East met West and the wall came down, there was a great concern over the bunker becoming a destination for right-wing extremists. Because of this, it was purposefully buried by a parking lot. Still, people wanted to know. There were plenty of myths about its size, design, and exact location. Many tourists would approach the local shop owners with questions about it. Eventually, they put up a little sign at the parking lot, denoting the location. When we were in Berlin, taking our tour, it was pointed out to us. Auf Deutsch.
There are many more things found under parking lots. A Black Church in Colonial Williamsburg. The Cave of the Royal Saint Margaret of Scotland. A Native American Shellmound with more than 100 burials.
There was even a place at a Philadelphia construction site, where they found 400 bodies, people who died during the 18th century. It was like the movie, Poltergeist, where the cemetery’s headstones were all taken away, but nobody bothered with the bodies underneath. So, in 2017, construction workers began finding these bodies on their worksite on Arch Street. Yes, 400 of those poor souls. Thankfully, they moved them all to a burial spot in Mount Moriah, before paving the lot and striping it with the bright yellow paint.
As Joni Mitchell once said, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Or something like that. But always remember. We never know what secret is lying beneath. Good thing it isn’t parallel parking.
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“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
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“Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.”
― André Malraux
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“A secret’s worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
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Beneath the pavement. Way beneath.
