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So if you’ve ever wondered about that odd-looking flaw or defect in the stone floor of your family home, it might warrant a closer look. You might even be walking on a piece of ancient human history.

Bold is what's in the source text:

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: תָּנָא, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: אָרוֹן בְּלִשְׁכַּת דִּיר הָעֵצִים הָיָה גָּנוּז. אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: אַף אֲנַן נָמֵי תְּנֵינָא: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּכֹהֵן אֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה מִתְעַסֵּק, וְרָאָה רִצְפָּה מְשׁוּנָּה מֵחַבְרוֹתֶיהָ, וּבָא וְהוֹדִיעַ אֶת חֲבֵירוֹ, וְלֹא הִסְפִּיק לִגְמוֹר אֶת הַדָּבָר עַד שֶׁיָּצְתָה נִשְׁמָתוֹ. וְיָדְעוּ בְּיִחוּד שֶׁשָּׁם אָרוֹן גָּנוּז.
Rav Naḥman said that a Sage taught in the Tosefta: And the Rabbis say that the Ark of the Covenant was buried in the Chamber of the Woodshed. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: We, too, have learned in a mishna: There was an incident involving a certain priest who was occupied with various matters, and he saw a floor tile in the woodshed that was different from the others. One of the marble floor tiles was higher than the rest, suggesting it had been lifted out and replaced. He came and informed his friend of the uneven tile, but was unable to finish his report and provide the exact location of the tile before his soul departed from his body. And consequently they knew definitively that the Ark was buried there, but its location was meant to be kept secret.
https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.54a.7?lang=bi

And remember, Alan Arkin was a dentist, and well, the rest is history for the discovery..

Serpentine, Shel, serpentine!