ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A secret chamber 30 feet deep was recently uncovered under the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Not exactly Harry Potter's Chamber of Secrets, but still cause for a lot of speculation about the question, what was it for?
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
A construction crew discovered the cistern while renovating a part of the Smithsonian known as the Castle. They only found this hole because of a long-term effort to revitalize this part of the historic building, the first in half a century.
SHAPIRO: Built in 1847, the structure's main function was gathering rainwater.
KELLY: But 120 years ago, it was sealed off entirely until this construction crew discovered it last month.
SHAPIRO: While there are some false rumors and Hollywood blockbusters alleging that a labyrinth of archives or secret tunnels lie underground, there's nothing out of the ordinary about this cistern, except maybe that it still exists at all.
KELLY: Yes. We must disclose zero secret symbols, zero ancient archives were found in the rainwater receptacle after it was uncovered.
SHAPIRO: Sorry to burst your bubble, "National Treasure" fans. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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