Construction crews at a U.S. military base in southern Germany discovered an unexploded World War II bomb, prompting the evacuation of part of the base. The bomb was defused hours later.

Workers at a construction site in the Grafenwoehr U.S. Army Garrison base in Bavaria, Germany, discovered an unexploded 500-pound bomb dating back to the World War II, according to NBC News. Construction work was underway for a new elementary school near the Tower Barracks when the ordinance was discovered.

On their Facebook page, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria warned personnel and civilians that the area around Tower Barracks was being evacuated, but the whole base was to remain open. Only one gate closed, and military police went to each house in the vicinity to evacuate residents.

Post by U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.

NBC News reported that around 200 people were evacuated out of the more than 4,500 personnel at the base.

"The area is being evacuated so that the bomb can be defused," said Susanne Bratsch, spokesperson for the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, at the time. "It will take about an hour to clear the area.

"The evacuation applies to the area defined by the explosive ordinance team."

According to Stars and Stripes, 10 residential buildings and eight administrative buildings, including the base headquarters, were evacuated while U.S. and German bomb disposal crews worked to defuse the bomb.

The USAG Bavaria page told anyone affected that the USO was providing dinner and shelter. A couple of hours after the evacuations, the Facebook page said the bomb had been successfully defused and people could return.

Post by U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.

Bombs from World War Two continue to appear throughout Europe, especially Germany, which was constantly bombed during the war. Last Year, a German construction worker died when his digger struck a buried bomb.