An unexploded Civil War-era artillery shell was unearthed at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania this week, officials announced.
Local roads were reportedly closed on Wednesday afternoon as a team from the US Army’s 55th Ordnance Disposal Company removed the device, which was roughly 10 pounds in weight and 7 inches in length, and reportedly dated all the way back to 1863.
A spokesman with the park reportedly told one corporate news outlet that the team “carried the 10-pound shell away, dug a hole, placed C-4 explosives and blew the artifact up.”
Park officials announced the discovery Wednesday, writing on social media that an “unexploded ordnance was found within the Little Round Top rehabilitation area.”
Little Round Top was the site of a crucial Union victory over Confederate soldiers during the Battle of Gettysburg – which was not only the deadliest clash in the American Civil War but is now widely considered to be the major turning point in the conflict.
According to park authorities, the shell was discovered by contract archaeologist Steven Brann, who was shocked to realize that rather than a fragment, he’d unearthed a potentially-live artillery shell.
“He laid it gently on the ground, took a picture of it and ran for the hills,” Gettysburg National Military Park spokesman said.
A number of commenters on the park’s social Facebook page were critical of the decision to destroy the device and argued it should have been preserved by park staff instead.
But a spokesman for the park reportedly described the decision to incinerate the round as being “1,000 percent based on safety,” and noted that Gettysburg’s collection already includes similar shells.