ELMIRA, N.Y. (WHCU) – History has been unearthed in the Southern Tier.

WENY-TV reports crews doing paving work in Elmira found old bricks when milling the pavement this week. The bricks were used for streets prior to the invention of asphalt and were considered upgrades to dirt roads and wooden planks at the time.

Chemung County Historical Society Archivist Rachel Dworkin says the bricks pre-date at least 1895 and remain under the roadways because digging them up would have been timely and expensive. Dworkin adds that the bricks are often seen during paving projects.