An ancient Native American burial ground in Larkspur, California was recently dug up and paved over as part of construction for a swanky new Bay Area housing development.

According to local archaeologists, the burial ground dates back at least 4,500 years, making it about as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The archaeologists also say that it was one of the most well-preserved burial grounds to have been discovered in California over the past 100 years.

“In my 40 years as a professional archaeologist, I’ve never heard of an archaeological site quite like this one… This was obviously a very important place during prehistory,” said E. Breck Parkman, senior archaeologist for the California State Parks System, in a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Not surprisingly, the archaeologists were not at all happy about the site’s development. From the Chronicle:

“The developer was reluctant to have any publicity because, well – let’s face it – because of ‘Poltergeist,’ ” said [archeologist Dwight] Simons, referring to the 1982 movie about a family tormented by ghosts and demons because their house was built on top of a burial ground.

Roughly 600 sets of human remains were buried at the site, along with tools, weapons, musical instruments, and, “an extremely rare ceremonial California condor burial,” according to Gizmodo.

The burial ground will be replaced by a series of multimillion-dollar homes. The developer — a company called Larkspur Land 8 — says that they have followed all legal guidelines, including bringing in a team of archaeologists to inspect the site before they began construction.

The developer also points out that the human remains and artifacts found at the site were reburied according to the directions of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (a group that most likely descended from the area’s indigenous peoples).

Unfortunately, the archaeologists say that the ancient artifacts were apparently “graded over” at their new location, “destroying the geologic record and ending any chance of future study.” According to the Chronicle, not a single artifact was saved.

But to be fair, many members of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria did not want to see the burial ground turned into an archaeological site.

Greg Sarris, the tribe’s chairman, said that archaeologists have no business telling the tribe what to do with the remains of their ancestors:

“How would Jewish or Christian people feel if we wanted to dig up skeletal remains in a cemetery and study them? Nobody has that right.”

The new homes being built on the site will hit the market in the fall, with prices ranging from $1.9 million to $2.5 million.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle and Gizmodo.