A mysterious bottle with liquid still inside that was discovered last year during excavation works on Sea View Street in Cleethorpes has been determined to contain none other than urine.
During heritage restoration works at 35-37 Sea View Street as part of the Townscape Heritage (TH) project, excavations were carried out at the rear of the building in preparation for the foundations of a new extension. Workers had to manually dig an area that was too tight for a small digger.
Incredibly, workers discovered a glass bottle, similar in style to those produced several hundred years ago. But that wasn’t all – the bottle was still sealed with liquid contents inside.
The bottle was retrieved from the property during a site visit by Carol Heidschuster, the TH project manager. With the agreement of the building owners, the bottle was transferred to the Conservation of Cultural Heritage department at the University of Lincoln for preservation.
Over the last few months, the bottle has been kept in a climate-controlled environment and studied by third-year Undergraduate student Zara Yeates, 32, as part of her Conservation of Cultural Heritage course.
The bottle has been kept in a climate-controlled environment and investigated since its discovery
(Image: NELC)
She said: “This bottle has been a great project and I’ve absolutely loved it. I’ve spent months cleaning it to brighten up the levels of iridescence which has led to the discovery of an opalescence.
“To the naked eye, it probably looks like dirt, but it’s just another layer of this wonderful object. After countless tests using UV light and X-rays, we believe we may have discovered what’s in the bottle.
“We can now say, almost definitively, that it is urine.”
With the ultimate question answered, Zara is hoping to learn more about the glass itself. “Now I’ll be looking at finding out the minerals in the glass to hopefully figure out where and when the bottle was made,” she said.
Sea View Street, known as Town Street in the 19th century, would have seen many sailors coming and going, preparing for their voyages at sea. At this time, a common occurrence was to bury a bottle of urine as a superstition for a safe journey home.
In the 1801 census, Cleethorpes had a population of 284 from 60 houses, but transformed into a large and fashionable town towards the late 19th century.
Sea View Street, Cleethorpes
(Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)
In the 1841 census, the town was originally spelt Cleathorpe, with the aforementioned districts of Itterby, Oole and Thrunscoe.
Sea View Street resided in the parish of Itterby and Cleethorpes was known for businesses selling oysters and a blacksmiths. During this time, well known establishments such as The Fisherman’s Arms didn’t even exist – and the only surviving shop is that of Hermes Antiques, which opened in the early 1800s.
Whilst it may never be clear why or how the bottle came to rest there, work carried out by Zara at the University of Lincoln has been able to gain a small glimpse into Cleethorpes life over 200 years ago.
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Speaking about the updates on the bottle, Carol Heidschuster said: “It’s been great to follow the journey of the bottle.
“Although it may not contain rum or a precious liquid, seeing it brought back to life by Zara is great and we’re so happy that we managed to find it during one of the Townscape Heritage Projects.
“Hopefully we can now find out more about the glass itself to determine where and when it was made.”