An Italian McDonald's Has 2,000-Year-Old Skeletons On Display

Without a doubt, McDonald's has some pretty strange locations. You have the McDonald's housed in the basement of the Louvre Museum in France. You have the ski-through McDonald's in Sweden. You have the middle-of-the-desert McDonald's in Israel. You even have the McDonald's tucked into a decommissioned plane in New Zealand.

However, none of these bizarre McDonald's locations hold a candle to the McDonald's in Frattocchie, Italy. According to Hidden Lazio, this particular location, which opened in 2017, actually sits above an archaeological site.

Now, it would be one thing if this McDonald's merely sat above an archaeological site, but no — this McDonald's goes one step further. You can actually see 2,000-year-old skeletons from within the restaurant, thanks to a glass-paneled floor. If you're wondering how on earth this came to be (and who thought this was a good idea?), worry not, we have some answers. So, hold on to your Big Mac, we're going to Italy.

Why does this Italian McDonald's have skeletons?

According to Newsweek, the site was discovered when construction for the new McDonald's began in 2014. Workers found three skeletons preserved alongside an ancient Roman road. Per The New York Times, McDonald's initially pitched in more than $300k for the project, but has devoted additional funds over the years to maintaining and protecting the site.

As you might expect, Reddit had a lot to say about this McDonald's. Some locals dove deeper into the preservation of the site, saying, "In many European countries it's mandated by law that any ruins of historical value have to be preserved and made available to the public." Others joked that the skeletons were "waiting for the ice cream machine to be fixed," or were even a source of the McRib. Still, others said that the display had the added bonus of bringing curious tourists into the restaurant. Well, they're certainly not wrong.