GETTYSBURG (AP).- Workers cutting up a fallen tree at Gettysburg National Military Park came across some Civil War artifacts when their chain saw struck bullets buried in the tree trunk.

The bullets were discovered last week while a crew was cutting through the oak tree on Culp's Hill, the site of intense fighting on July 2-3, 1863, Park Superintendent Bob Kirby said Tuesday.

It was common to find bullets there 100 years ago, but such discoveries are a rarity these days, Kirby said.

Two sections of the tree's trunk were removed and will be treated to clean out insects and mold before they will be added to the park's museum collection, officials said.

The tree was estimated to have been about a century old at the time of the battle, meaning it was about 250 years old when it fell recently, park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said.

She said there are at least two visible bullets. One appears to be a Minie ball, a type of ammunition used extensively during the Civil War.


Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.