An ancient Roman burial ground filled with treasure has been discovered in central Italy. Along with nearly 70 skeletons interred in carefully constructed graves, researchers found precious jewelry, leather goods, pottery and coins.

As lead archaeologist Emanuele Giannini tells CNN’s Silvia Marchetti, his team had a “faint idea” that the site would yield valuables, “but the magnitude of the discovery is unmatched.”

Unearthed during a pre-construction dig for a solar energy plant, the burial ground lies on a 52-acre plot of land north of Rome. It’s not far from the ancient city of Tarquinia, known for Etruscan stone cemeteries dating to the seventh century B.C.E.

Researchers think the newly discovered necropolis was built between the second and fourth centuries C.E., during the height of the Roman Empire, reports Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove. It was probably ᴀssociated with a nearby “mansio,” an ancient villa where Roman higher-ups paused their business journeys to rest. As indicated by historical writings, such a place, called Tabellaria, lies just 1,640 feet from the site, Giannini says.

The burials’ proximity to the socially exclusive mansio helps explain their priceless contents. Among the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, researchers found gold necklaces and earrings, terracotta pottery, precious stones, coins, glᴀsses, amulets and silver rings decorated with amber and engraved initials. Some skeletons were even found wearing expensive stockings and shoes.