Burgos - Experts conducting restoration work on a statue of
Jesus in the Spanish village of Sotillo de la Ribera, in the province
of Burgos, have discovered two handwritten notes dating back to 1777
in a hollow space behind the statue's buttocks.
The notes, reportedly written by Joaquin Minguez, the chaplain of the
cathedral in the nearby town of Burgo de Osma at the time, are said
to have recorded Minguez's observations on topics such as economics,
religion, politics and culture, Spanish media reported.
Local historian Efren Arroyo said that the author of the note, as
well as the artist who created the statue, had clearly hoped that the
notes would be found at some point, Spanish national newspaper El
Pais reported. The newspaper also referred to the discovery as a
"time capsule."
Although it is quite common for historic sculptures to have hidden
cavities, it is extremely unusual for them to contain handwritten
documents, said Arroyo.