Ross RussellEngineers have discovered a bottle with a 132-year-old message written deep inside the wall of a lighthouse in southern Scotland.
The bottle was found at the Koswold Lighthouse at the northernmost point of the Rhine in Galloway.
The “once in a lifetime” discovery is understood to be the first message in a bottle found in a Scottish lighthouse.
The letter, written in quill pen and ink and dated September 4, 1892, revealed the names of the three engineers who installed the new lights in the 30-foot tower.
It is also engraved with the names of the three keepers of the lighthouse.
The 8-inch (20-centimeter) bottle was discovered during an inspection by Northern Lighthouse Board mechanical engineer Ross Russell.
He discovered it after removing a panel from a cupboard, but it was well beyond arm’s reach. The team used a device made of rope and a broomstick to retrieve it.
But they waited until lighthouse keeper Barry Miller arrived before opening the lighthouse.
“Gosh, I’m so grateful they did that,” he said.
The bottle has an unusual convex base, which means it doesn’t stand upright, and it’s made of rough glass that’s filled with tiny air bubbles.
It is thought that it once contained oil.
The cork is a cork that has expanded and stuck to the glass over time, while the wire holding it in place has rusted.
Ross RussellWorkers must cut off the top of the cork and then very carefully drill the cork out.
The note initially looked too big to pull out of the bottleneck, so they designed a tool that used two cables to twist it through the narrow opening.
Mr Miller, 77, told BBC News Scotland his hands were shaking when he opened it.
“It’s so exciting, it’s like meeting our past colleagues. It’s actually like they were there,” he said.
“It’s like touching them. It’s like they’re part of our team instead of just the four of us there and we’re all there sharing what they wrote because it’s tangible and you can see their handwriting style.
“You know what they did. You know they hid it in a place where it wasn’t going to be found for a long, long time.”
What did the letter say?
Ross RussellCorsewall Light and Fog Signal Station, 4 September 1892.
The lamp was erected between May and September by Engineers James Wells, John Westwood Millwright, Engineer James Brodie, David Scott Labourer of James Milne & Son Engineers, Milton House Works, Edinburgh, and was relit on the evening of Thursday the 15th . September 1892.
At this time, the following were the station’s administrators: John B. Wilson, principal, John B. Henderson, first assistant, John Lockhart, second assistant.
Lenses and machinery were supplied by James Dove &Co Engineers Greenside Edinburgh and built by William Burness, John Harrower and James Dods. Engineer from the above company.
“I was very surprised”
Jane MurrayRoss Russell, who discovered the bottle with colleagues Morgan Dennison and Neil Armstrong, said it was an incredible find.
“The note was so outrageous that I was very surprised,” Ross said.
“It’s exciting to be the first person to touch the bottle after 132 years.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”
Ross RussellAhead of the year-long project, engineers traveled to the 209-year-old lighthouse to inspect the bearings on which the five-tonne lens rotates.
When they found the bottle, they tried to check under the floor to see if that part would be able to support the lens if it went off course.
The man who wrote this note in 1892 had installed different types of lanterns and roof glass at the lighthouse.
“It was a strange coincidence to find this note while using the device described on the note,” Ross said.
The 36-year-old said they planned to return the note and bottle they found to their original location and add another of their own.
Euan MurrayMeanwhile, a descendant of a lighthouse keeper said he was delighted with the discovery.
Euan Murray, who grew up 10 miles (16 km) from Stranraer lighthouse, is the great-great-grandson of Robert Murray and worked with John Wilson. John Wilson in Corsewall.
“I do find it interesting to see some family history pop up like this,” he said.
The 32-year-old added: “It’s amazing that even in the age of satellite navigation, the work they were doing back then is still completely relevant today.”
The Royal Navy’s chief engineer said: “Ships are still using these lighthouses every day for safe navigation.
“This has become even more apparent over my career at sea and having passed lighthouses many times on ships traveling around the world. Lighthouses are always a wonderful symbol of home.”
