200-year-old letter in a bottle discovered in excavation

In an almost poetic moment of communication across time and space, an archaeological team in Normandy discovered a letter in a bottle, left behind by archaeologists who excavated the site in the 19th century.

Municipal archaeologist Guillaume Blondel led volunteers in an emergency rescue excavation at the Camp de César site near Puys Beach in Dieppe, as cliff erosion threatened the site. They unearthed mostly fragments of Gallic pottery. Then, on September 16, one of the volunteers, a history student named Pierre, found the rounded rim of a pot with an oval bump in the middle. Blondel examined it and determined it was not Gallic pottery, and after confirming it was not unexploded munitions from World War II, the team conducted a full excavation of the fragment.

It turned out to be a jar covered with a small glazed cup with a clear glass object sticking out of the cup. Blondel identified the jar based on its type and 19th-century origin, while the clear glass piece was a small, flat glass bottle that was used to hold smelling salts. Women would hang these bottles around their necks to prevent them from fainting from the pressure of their corsets. Inside the bottle was a rolled-up piece of paper.

The next evening, Blondel carefully removed and unfolded the paper, while the entire team of volunteers stared with bated breath, just like the women who once wore these vials. On the long, thin rectangle of paper, written in neat handwriting, was a message:

“P. J. Féret, a native of Dieppe and a member of several learned societies, excavated here in January 1825. He continued his research in this huge enclosure called the Cité de Limes or Camp de César.”

[P.J Féret, a native of Dieppe, member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825. He continues his investigations in this vast area known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp.]

When Ferret began excavating, it was thought that the site had been a Carolingian settlement. He was the first to investigate the area and found evidence of an earlier Gallic presence, but no Carolingian remains.

“It was a magical moment,” Mr Blondel said. “We knew there had been excavations here in the past, but to find this message from 200 years ago … it was totally unexpected.

“Sometimes you see these time capsules left behind by carpenters when they were building a house. But it’s very rare in archaeology. Most archaeologists prefer to think that no one will come after them because they’ve already done all the work!”