Message written 200 years ago found during excavation

A group of volunteer students conducting archaeological excavations in northern France encountered a surprise message from the past.

While working on the remains of a Gallic village located on the cliffs near Dieppe, the students found a small glass bottle inside an earthenware pot.

Guillaume Blondel, the leader of the excavation team, said, "It was like the small glass bottles that women used to wear around their necks to carry smelling salts."

Inside the bottle was a piece of paper, rolled up and tied with string. 

When Blondel opened the paper, he encountered the following message: 

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

Féret was a prominent figure in the region, and municipal records confirm that he conducted the first excavation in this area 200 years ago.

Blondel said, "It was a completely magical moment. We knew that excavations had been carried out here in the past, but encountering this message from 200 years ago was a total surprise."

"Sometimes you find these time capsules left by carpenters when they built houses, but in archaeology, this is very rare. Most archaeologists like to think that no one will come after them because they have done all the work."

The emergency excavation was launched due to erosion observed on the cliffs at the site just north of Dieppe. A significant portion of the fortified Gallic village has already been lost.

Blondel said, "We knew it was a Gallic village. What we didn't know was what was inside the village. Was it an important place?"

In the first week of the excavation, pottery shards dating back to the Gallic period 2,000 years ago were found.