Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions, primarily because it allows messages and knowledge to be preserved that would otherwise be lost. It was thanks to writing that a two-century-old message in a bottle was found in a historic French village.
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A team of student volunteers participated in an archaeological excavation near Dieppe, in northern France, intending to uncover remnants of a Gallic village. While sifting through ancient pottery shards, one volunteer discovered a more recent and exceptionally rare item.
During their work, these young students primarily found fragments of Gallic pottery. However, a young history student soon noticed part of a pot protruding from the earth. Upon examination by excavation manager Guillaume Blondel, it was determined that the pot did not belong to the Gallic period. After confirming it was not an unexploded ordnance from World War II, the team cautiously continued to excavate.
The item uncovered was an earthenware pot containing a small glass flask.
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The bottle contained a letter dated January 1825 written by archaeologist P.J. Féret. In the letter, Féret describes his work in the ancient Gallic clifftop village, then known as the City of Limes or Caesar 's Camp.
“It was the kind of vial that women used to wear round their necks containing smelling salts,” said team leader Guillaume Blondel, who heads the archaeological service for the town of Eu.
Blondel opened the letter which reads: “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.”
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“It was an absolutely magic moment,” Blondel told the BBC. “We knew there had been excavations here in the past, but to find this message from 200 years ago… it was a total surprise.
“Sometimes you see these time capsules left behind by carpenters when they build houses. But it’s very rare in archaeology. Most archaeologists prefer to think that there won’t be anyone coming after them because they’ve done all the work!”
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Féret was a notable figure in the local community and conducted his first excavation on the site 200 years ago, as confirmed by municipal records. In addition to this letter, the students also found numerous Gallic artifacts, including ancient pottery shards, on the site.
See also: More Archaeology News
The emergency excavation was initiated due to cliff erosion at a location just north of Dieppe. A significant portion of the oppidum, or fortified village, has already been lost. According to Blondel, the archaeologists knew it was a Gaulish village. What they did not know was what went on inside the village. Was it a place of importance? In the week since the excavation began, several artifacts from the Gaulish period—primarily pottery fragments dating back approximately 2,000 years—have been discovered.
Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
