2 weeks Ago By Mashable News Staff
A man has discovered an astonishing blast from the past relic in Scotland. An engineer conducting an inspection stumbled upon a 132-year-old message in a bottle was unearthed inside Corsewall Lighthouse. Dated September 4, 1892, the bottle contained a handwritten note that listed the names of three engineers who had installed a new lighting system in the lighthouse and the three lighthouse keepers who worked there at the time.
The note was written using quill and ink and tucked away behind cupboard panels within the lighthouse. 132 year old message in a bottle found in a wall of the Corsewall #lighthouse in southwestern Scotland. https://t.
co/wnBB0Exbhk pic.twitter.com/A4hlbf4U5S — Russ Rowlett (@LHDirectory) November 9, 2024 Ross Russell, a mechanical engineer with the Northern Lighthouse Board, made the discovery during an inspection.
The bottle had been hidden out of reach, and the team had to use a makeshift tool - a broom handle with a rope attached - to retrieve it safely, BBC reported. The bottle was made from thick glass filled with tiny air bubbles and had a convex base that prevented it from standing upright. It was originally used to hold oil but the cork stopper had expanded over time while its securing wire rusted away.
The team carefully drilled and cut through the cork to access the contents without damaging the bottle or its message. To extract the note, a custom tool was created to gently twist it out of the narrow bottle neck. Miller described his anticipation as he opened the bottle, calling the experience unforgettable.
ALSO SEE: World War II British Submarine Discovered 81 Years After Mysterious Disappearance Message in the bottle Corsewall Light & Fog Signal Station, Sept 4th 1892. This lantern was erected by James Wells Engineer, John Westwood Millwright, James Brodie Engineer, David Scott Labourer, of the firm of James Milne & Son Engineers, Milton House Works, Edinburgh, during the months from May to September and relighted on Thursday night 15th Sept 1892. The following are keepers at the station at this time, John Wilson Principal, John B Henderson 1st assistant, John Lockhart 2nd assistant.
The lens and machine were supplied by James Dove &Co Engineers Greenside Edinburgh and erected by William Burness, John Harrower, and James Dods. Engineers with the above firm. "The note was just sensational.
Being the first person to touch the bottle after 132 years was mind-blowing. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime find," Russel said per BBC. ALSO SEE: Alexander The Great's Bathroom Discovered By Archaeologists After 2,300 Years (Image: X).
