A Spanish road project has uncovered one of the country’s oldest Islamic-era burial sites, including more than 300 tombs, according to The Times newspaper.

The discovery by chance came while working on a road in Tauste, a small municipality near the city of Zaragoza in northeast Spain.

Archaeologists were called in and teams uncovered more than 300 tombs, some dating as far back as the eighth century.

“We have discovered one of the oldest and best-preserved Muslim cemeteries in the Iberian Peninsula,” said archaeologist Rafael Laborda.

Miriam Pina Pardos, director of the Anthropological Observatory of the Islamic Necropolis of Tauste, said, "The evidence revealed that the city had a large Muslim population.”

Experts believe the discovery will challenge previous assumptions about Muslim settlements in the area.

“The remains will be cataloged, stored for research and studied,” Pina Pardos added.