Barb MacDonald was shell-hunting on Broadkill Beach near Beach Plum Island when she discovered a beachcomber’s dream: The surf had pushed a cork-stoppered stoneware bottle onto the sand by her feet. “The handle was broken but it was otherwise intact,” she said.

MacDonald said she called the Lewes Historical Society for help. She said the society would keep the crock for at least a month to conduct studies. There is liquid inside the bottle she said the society wants to test to see what it could be.

MacDonald said she was told the crock could be from the 18th century. “I thought I would enjoy it for a while, but I would like to share it and donate it somewhere,” she said.