Sheriff's Office authorities have identified the explosive device as an M-65 ordnance.
Construction workers at a future college campus in Brooksville, Florida stumbled upon a surprising relic from the past on Tuesday - a 1,000-pound bomb dating back to World War II.
Located near the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport, the massive bomb was unearthed while work was underway for the Wilton Simpson Technical College campus. Though initially believed to be active, bomb squads from neighboring Citrus County soon confirmed it was inert.
"Because it is so rusted and decayed, there is certainly no way of telling whether it's live ammunition or inert," Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said in a video posted to social media after the find.
As a precaution, authorities evacuated a half-mile radius around the site. Thankfully, all roads were reopened later that evening after the bomb's inert status was confirmed.
The bomb's presence provides a tangible reminder of the former life of the airport, once known as the Brooksville Army Airfield and used for training during WWII. The bomb itself, identified as a M-65 ordnance typically used against fortified targets, will be safely disposed of with the help of MacDill Air Force Base.