Workers renovating major city street stumble on ancient discovery buried 20 feet below

Workers renovating a bustling city boulevard stumbled across a piece of the ancient past — a cache of pottery dating back roughly 1,000 years.

The discovery was made amid ongoing excavations in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia in the Caucasus region, south of Russia.

The artifacts were found roughly 20 feet beneath Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi's main thoroughfare.

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Pictures show archaeologists examining the intricately decorated pottery fragments, as well as centuries-old jugs and various shards.

The roadwork is part of a larger project to upgrade Rustaveli Avenue with new pedestrian crossings, improved signage and other improvements, according to Reuters.

David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum, told Reuters the discovery was not entirely unexpected given Tbilisi's history.

"Tbilisi is very rich with archaeological material ... so it's very logical to find workshops of different periods," he said.

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Lordkipanidze also pointed to Tbilisi's long history as a crossroads for cultures and commerce.

"Tbilisi was always multicultural," he said. 

"[It's been] a real center for the region, particularly an economic center."

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The pottery appears to date between the 10th and 11th centuries, when Tbilisi was under Arab rule and served as an important stop along the Silk Road.

Additional studies, including 3D scanning, will help researchers more precisely determine the artifacts' age.

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Georgia, cradled between Europe and Asia, forms part of the Caucasus region alongside Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Tbilisi was founded in the fourth century, and the region has since come under the control of various powers, including Mongols, Persians and Russians, as well as Arabs during the Middle Ages.

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The discovery comes as workers across the world stumble on ancient sites during routine work.

In Italy, construction crews building a new highway unexpectedly uncovered the remains of an ancient sanctuary dating to the fifth century B.C., prompting an archaeological investigation.

Last summer in Peru, utility workers digging trenches for an underground gas network unearthed two pre-Incan tombs belonging to the Chancay culture, which existed from roughly 1000 to 1470 A.D.

Reuters contributed reporting.