A $1.7 million (£1.1 million) treasure that included jewelry, master tapes from bands Joy Division and New Order as wells as a gun were found on the site of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's new restaurant, according to reports.

However, the treasures were removed before the chef and his team moved in, a spokesman for the Oliver told British newspapers.

Oliver's new place used to house an old HSBC bank in Manchester. Reports are that HSBC took over a former Midland Bank in 1992.

Oliver's team acquired the property in 2010 and began working on the site last March, The Daily Mail reported. The Daily Mail reported that Oliver's Web site noted that, The basement vault room has wall to wall original safety deposit boxes where the people of Manchester stored their heirlooms, mementos and collectables since the building's completion in 1935.

Our designers and architects have been visiting the vault room since March 2011, and regardless of who they're with they can't resist 'checking' at least one safety deposit box for any unclaimed goods.

HSBC bank told the media they could not confirm exactly what was in the boxes because of customer confidentiality.

Even if I knew exactly what was in those boxes I would not be able to comment on that for reasons of confidentiality, a spokesman said, as reported by the told the Daily Mail. We cannot reveal the precise contents, but these are safe deposit boxes - there are bound to be valuables in there. If we did find anything illegal in there we would be required to notify police.

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