A Spanish priest who lived in Madrid in the 1700s hid a note in a hollowed out statue of Jesus Christ where it has remained for 240 years.
The statue was removed from the church of Santa Águeda in Sotillo de la Ribera for restoration when the restoration company discovered the secret note hidden in the buttocks of Christ.
The note itself is not so spectacular, detailing the blander parts of life in Madrid at the time, but researchers say the handwritten find is exceptional.
Historian Efrén Arroyo, member of the Holy Week Brotherhood of Sotillo de la Ribera, said: “Although it is usual for many sculptures to be hollow, it is not so much to find handwritten documents inside.”
The note, which was written in 1777, was authored by Joaquín Mínguez, a chaplain of the Cathedral of the Burgo de Osma.
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In it, he writes about the maker of the sculpture Manuel Bal, a “natural scholar of San Bernardo de Yagüe and neighbour in Campillo, both of this Bishopric of Osma.”
The note also talks about what crops were being cultivated in the region at the time such as wheat, rye, barley and oats, and wine grapes and also talks about how the population of 1777 Madrid entertained itself – with card games, ball games, and bar games.
However, it does detail some bleaker points, such as the most common diseases of the time, which were malaria and typhoid fever.
The note also gives more general information about life at the time: “The Court is in Madrid, there is a Mail and Gazette for the news, there is an Inquisition, for which no errors are experienced against the Church of God.”
According to Mr Arroyo, the priest wanted to paint as clear a picture as possible of life in Madrid in the 1770s.