THIS IS ARCHAEOLOGY OF VERY RECENT HISTORY, but worth a mention nonetheless:|

Jewish relics uncovered near Auschwitz (CNN)

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Posted: 3:00 PM EDT (1900 GMT)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Archeologists searching for Jewish religious relics at the site of a synagogue near the former Auschwitz death camp have found a treasure trove of menorahs and candelabra lost since the Nazis burned down the building in 1939, officials said Tuesday.

The objects were found Monday in Oswiecim, in southern Poland, after more than three weeks of excavation work.

Among the finding were candelabra decorated with symbolic eagles of Poland and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, which controlled the area until World War I, an indication that the objects could date from the 19th century, said Tomasz Kuncewicz, director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

The relics are rusted, but still intact, and researchers won't know their value until they have more time to study them.

[...]

Objects hidden from the Nazis in 1939 -- including a Torah scroll not yet uncovered -- will probably never be found, [archaeologist Adam] Druks said.

"I think the Nazis must have destroyed them," Druks said.

[...]