A group of student volunteers working on an archaeological dig in northern France recently made an unexpected discovery from the past. While sifting through the remnants of a Gaulish village on cliff-tops near Dieppe last Monday, they found an earthenware pot containing a small glass flask, the BBC reported.

“It was the kind of vial that women used to wear round their necks containing smelling-salts,” explained team leader Guillaume Blondel, who oversees the archaeological service for the town of Eu.

Inside the bottle was a rolled-up message on paper, secured with string.

On Tuesday evening, Blondel opened the paper, which contained the following message: “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.”

Feret was a local figure, and municipal records verify that he conducted the initial dig at the site 200 years ago.

“It was an absolutely magic moment,” Blondel remarked.

“We knew there had been excavations here in the past, but to find this message from 200 years ago… it was a total surprise," he stressed.

“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!” he went on.

The emergency dig was initiated due to cliff erosion at a site just north of Dieppe, where a significant portion of the oppidum—or fortified village—has already eroded away. Blondel noted, “We knew it was a Gaulish village. What we don’t know is what went on inside the village. Was it a place of importance?”

Since the dig started a week ago, several artifacts from the Gaulish period, primarily pieces of pottery dating back around 2,000 years, have been discovered.

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