Have you ever stared into the depths of the Seine, wondering what its black waters were hiding just thirty or so feet from the surface? The ashes of Joan of Arc have long since washed away, but how many bottles of wine, how many hastily bought cans of expensive quayside Heineken, how many dangerously dangled sandals sleep on the river bed? We may never know—the Seine would be nearly impossible to drain—but the Canal Saint-Martin is starting to give up its treasures now that a four-month cleanup project has drained its locks for the first time in a decade and a half.

#canalsaintmartin #canalsaintmartinvide#paris#curiosity

A photo posted by @severine_se_balade on Jan 6, 2016 at 8:46am PST

What would a body of water in France be without an abandoned Vespa?

On trouve tout dans le canal Saint Martin, vidé pour 3 mois pic.twitter.com/IrU54RPHpR

— Sarah Leduc (@SarahlF24) January 5, 2016

In case you were wondering why you can never find a Vélib when you’re drunk at 3am:

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Ever seen an empty Velib station and wondered where all the bikes were? http://t.co/J5sacceJG9 #Velib #Paris pic.twitter.com/Ov48U15Jo7

— Oliver Gee (@olivergee23) January 6, 2016

This boombox probably made more of a splash than a boom:

Not everyone’s camera was pointed down at the canal:

#Paris canal Saint-Martin nearly empty for cleaning.Closer.Bikes and other stuff inside! #CanalSM2016.#Periscope now pic.twitter.com/zutFl8vgGE

— Moctar KANE (@moctarkane) January 5, 2016

Somewhere in Paris, an American is unarmed:

Yes, that’s a gun. The first interesting find as they drain the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. http://t.co/tG5HBN3VDW pic.twitter.com/m6S67nABLX

— Oliver Gee (@olivergee23) January 4, 2016

The Guardian grabbed some great video of the operation in progress: