A team from the archaeological service of the city of Eu (Seine-Maritime) has just discovered a time capsule containing a message dating back more than 200 years on a historical site in Bracquemont. “A magical surprise” for the teams who made the unusual discovery.
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“It was an incredible surprise“: Guillaume Blondel still recounts with wonder the unusual discovery he has just made with his team.
On a historic site in Bracquemont (Seine-Maritime), the head of the archaeological service of the city of Eu and volunteers unearthed, on Thursday, September 19, 2024, a “time capsule”. A message left in the past by humans, with the aim of being found by future generations.
“We were conducting research on Caesar’s Camp, a cliff-side site threatened by the retreat of the coastline. We knew that there were German trenches here and archaeological excavations carried out at the beginning of the 19th century.e century. Pierre, one of the volunteers on his archaeological dig, was the first to dig up the ceramic pot that contained the time capsule.“, explains Guillaume Bondel, who was right next door at that moment.
Part of the team that discovered the “time capsule” at the archaeological site of Caesar’s camp, on a historical site in Bracquemont (Seine-Maritime).
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© Archaeology department of Eu town hall
The team present at the excavation then gathered together to reveal, in a small group, the unusual find. The ceramic pot contained two coins as well as a 19th century salt flake.e century in which there was a message.
“The team’s reaction was a big ‘Wow’. It was a great surprise. Totally magical. We couldn’t wait to find out what the message said.“, remembers Guillaume Blondel, still euphoric.
The message discovered by the archaeology department of Eu town hall was written by a former Norman archaeologist.
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© Archaeology department of Eu town hall
The message read: “PJ Féret, a native of Dieppe and member of several learned societies, excavated here in January 1825. He continued his research throughout this vast area called the City of Limes or Camp of Caesar.“.
As explained by the archaeological service of the city of Eu, Pierre Jacques Ferré was a Norman archaeologist, scholar, historian and former mayor of Dieppe.
“It is very moving and unusual to see such a message. One can imagine how he and his team conducted the first archaeological research here.. This is crazy“, says Guillaume Blondel, who had never made such a discovery before.
It’s even rare in our profession to find time capsules. I don’t know if there were any as old in France before. I still have to find out.
Guillaume BlondelHead of the archaeological service of the city of Eu
Other examples exist abroad: a 200-year-old “time capsule”, containing a mysterious inscription written in candle soot, was found in a cobalt mine in the suburbs of Manchester (England) in 2022.
Studies are currently being conducted to study the message collected by Guillaume Blondel and his team during the archaeological excavations in Normandy. Discussions will then be conducted to find out “How to present this incredible discovery to the general public afterwards“.
The story doesn’t end there: Guillaume Blondel, the mayor of Dieppe Nicolas Langlois and the mayor of Eu Michel Barbier all three wrote messages that they placed in a container and buried on the excavation site where the time capsule was found.
“These are writings in place with the history of the site, the archaeology and the teams who worked here. I will not say more about the content of the messages, Guillaume Blondel jokes. To find out, we’ll meet up in 200 years.“
