Mystery over a message in a bottle: Vessel discovered under cathedral's flagstones raises more questions than it answers

Century-old note was uncovered below Durham Cathedral this week

It carried the names of three gravediggers along with a message



It read: 'This grave was opened on Sunday May 11th 1913'

Experts are baffled as to why the note was left there and its context



Mystery surrounds a note inside a century-old glass vessel that was painstakingly recovered from under a flagstone at Durham Cathedral this week.

The bottle contained a faded piece of paper with the names of who are believed to be three gravediggers, along with the message: ' This grave was opened on Sunday May 11th 1913.'

But experts are baffled as to why the men left the note there or what it means.

Mystery: Experts painstakingly recovered this century-old glass vessel from underneath Durham Cathedral but bafflement surrounds the meaning of a note that was left inside

Plot thickens: The note was believed to have been planted by three gravediggers. It said: 'This grave was opened on May 11th 1913'

Bafflement: Experts have no idea of the context of the note or what the men could have meant

Cathedral archaeologist Norman Emery said: 'Whether they opened the grave deliberately or by accident is not known.

'We will now attempt to find out who the three men were and then try and find out whose grave they opened.

'They reason why they left the note may be one part of the conundrum we will never be able to solve.'

Stonemason Steve Mann unearthed the remarkably well-preserved bottle while re-laying the flagstones near the tomb of the Venerable Bede in the cathedral's 12 century Galilee Chapel on Tuesday last week.



The only tantalizing clue to what lay within was the words Globe Theatre, visible on the paper's letterhead.

The bottle was handed over to Durham University conservator Liz Brannigan, who looked on as freelance conservator Bob Elsey gently prised the cork out under a microscope on Friday.

The note was written on the back of an advert for the Globe Theatre in London, known now as the Gielgud Theatre

Mr Elsey said: 'After five minutes the cork it started to loosen. That was the easy bit, the hard bit was the paper which had been rolled up and then folded over and inserted. It was a delicate operation easing it out little by little.'

A theatre advert - believed to be the closest piece of paper to hand when the note was made - was for a production of English dance and folk songs at the Globe Theatre, in London, Shaftesbury Avenue.

On the back were the names Mr W Wraybole, Mr W Carter, Mr G Yeoman. They were bracketed with the word Grave and what appears to be a capital D and included a stonemason mark - along with the enigmatic message.

Mr Emery said: 'The interesting thing to the advert is that it refers to the sole lessee of the Globe Theatre as Charles Frohman, the American impresario of the day. Frohman produced JM Barries' Peter Pan.'