A woman in Modbury made a jaw-dropping discovery while digging in her back garden – a box containing five sets of false teeth.

Architect Emily Sullivan was preparing to build a treehouse with her husband on Wednesday, July 3, when she found a yellow box just below the surface of the soil.

The bizarre find came as a gnash-ty shock and Emily said it did not put a smile on her face.

“At first I thought that it might be something important, like money or gold,” she said, adding: “Everyone I’ve shown them to has been disgusted.”

The 38-year-old said she has left the teeth in the box outside her back door.

“I’ll probably just throw them away,” she said.

Although Emily knew the elderly woman who previously lived in the house, she believes the teeth must have been there for longer than that.

She explained: “They’re quite well-preserved, whatever they’re made of.”

Emily said she’s not expecting to come across any more gruesome surprises.

“We’re done digging there now,” she said.