Archaeologists stunned after discovering classic car

Archaeologists were left stunned when they found a vintage car buried at a pre-historic ritual site.

It was on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, UK, that the unlikely discovery was made.

Wessex Archaeology had undertaken a dig in the area looking for World War Two artillery

Needless to say, uncovering a 1930s motor wasn’t what they had anticipated.

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What did Archaeologists find whilst digging on Salisbury Plain?

Car archaeologists usually uncover classic vehicles in a barn – like this Wisconsin finding – so digging up a car is remarkably unusual.

The Salisbury Plain region is renowned for being an archaeology hotspot and regularly draws in tourists with landmarks such as Stonehenge.

It was also used to train troops ahead of the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe during WW2.

With all this history, it should come as no surprise that archaeologists are constantly at work in the area.

However, digging up a 1932 MG J2 was not something the Wessex Archaeology team had anticipated.

As reported by The Sun, one archaeologist from the group Damien Campbell-Bell said: “This find was a real surprise.

“This particular MG J2 is pretty rare; it was one of only 2,083 of the model ever made.

“When it was new in 1932, it had a top speed of 65mph and would have cost $266 [£199].

“In the 1930s, the average annual salary was $268[£200] and a three-bedroom house cost around $469 [£350], so the car’s owner was clearly very wealthy.”

How popular was the 1932 MG J2?

Between 1932 and 1934, 2,083 models of this car were produced.

Fast forward 90 years and only one is still driving on the roads of the UK.

Back in 1932, it was considered innovative with its two seats and 847cc engine.

You may be wondering how one ended up buried in Salisbury Plain then.

Fortunately, the archaeologists cracked the case when they found the vehicle’s serial number.

Damien explained: “We only know of one owner of the car with the serial number J2192 – a Mr J H Howard of Retford, from July 1934 – though it is likely that it had other owners.

“We can tell from the tyre pattern that the car was probably in use until the early 1960s, at which point it seems to have been buried here.

“Many cars were patched up during the 1950s to keep them running, and this MG J2 is no different.”

Although MG J2s are exceptionally rare, they can occasionally appear on auction sites where they usually fetch between $24,000 and $66,000.

It’s not likely that the remains of this J2 will go for much, but wrecked cars have fetched for a fair bit at auctions, like this Maserati MC20.