GIF 
 
 While preserving an 18th century wooden statue of Jesus, a team of Spanish restorers was surprised to discover a time capsule hidden within the hollowed-out ass portion of the carving. Written by a Catholic chaplain, the detailed document contains economic, political, and cultural information about the time period. 
 
 The Madrid-based Da Vinci Restauro team uncovered the two handwritten pages when detaching a removable portion of the statue’s buttocks. Called “Cristo del Miserere,” the wooden statue of Jesus belongs to the Church of Santa Águeda in Sotillo de la Ribera, Spain. The document was signed in 1777 by a Spanish Priest named Joaquín Mínguez, chaplain of the Cathedral of the Burgo de Osma. 
 
 As reported by the EFE Agency, historian Efrén Arroyo said that, “although it is usual for many sculptures to be hollow, it is not so much to find in his interior some documents written by hand.” Arroyo, who’s also a member of the Holy Week Brotherhood of Sotillo de la Ribera, suspects that Mínguez’s intention was for the document to remain hidden for hundreds of years. To that end, the document serves as a kind of time capsule, making mention of the artist behind the statue and providing detailed information about the era. 
 
 The document honors the memory of the sculptor, Manuel Bal, who Mínguez describes as a “natural scholar of San Bernardo de Yagüe and neighbor in Campillo, both of this Bishopric of Osma.” Bal carved five other statues, specifically the saints Águeda, Santiago, Millán, Jerónimo, and Juan, according to the document. 
 
 Mínguez also cites various events of the time, and names the Aldermen of King Charles III (who reigned from 1759-1788). He makes mention of crops that were cultivated in the region, including harvests of wheat, rye, barley, and oats. He made a special reference to wine from the Aranda region, saying “its harvest is very numerous for many years, so much that in this time it has been seen, for not taking in the cellars, spilling much wine.” The chaplain describes common blights of the time, namely malaria and typhoid fever, while describing popular forms of entertainment, such “cards, ball, bald, bar and other puerile [i.e. silly] games.” 
 
 The Da Vinci Restauro team has sent the original document to the the archives of the Archbishopric of Burgos, where other documents of the Parish Archives of Sotillo de la Ribera are kept. A copy of the documents were produced and placed back inside the statue in respect for Joaquín Mínguez’s intentions. 
 
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 [EFE Agency & Da Vinci Restauro via ScienceAlert] ||||| Bret Boone is probably going to regret this edition of... 
 
 Restorers of an 18th-century statue of Jesus Christ in Spain have found a handwritten note hidden up his bum. 
 
 The message, written carefully in calligraphy and dating back to 1777, had been stuffed up the Messiah’s backside by a priest, preserving it like a time capsule. 
 
 It contains key information about the period and details on popular pastimes, the economic situation, political and religious matters, famous people and other topics. 
 
 The document is signed by Joaquin Minguez, priest of the cathedral of Burgo de Osma at the time, and was recently unearthed by workers of the restoration company Da Vinci Restauro. 
 
 Today, the wooden statue is kept at the church of Santa Agueda in the village of Sotillo de la Ribera in the northern Spanish province of Burgos. 
 
 The document, carefully handwritten on both sides of two pages, was found when restorers removed a piece of fabric used to cover Christ’s behind, which exposed a small gap. 
 
 Local historian Efren Arroyo was overwhelmed by the discovery: “It is amazing because it really is unique to find hidden handwritten documents inside such statues.” 
 
 As well as naming the statue’s sculptor and including data on local information ranging from agricultural matters to community affairs, the document highlighted common diseases, popular children’s games and even the names of popular bullfighters of the time. 
 
 According to experts, all these references indicate Joaquin Minguez’s intention was to make one of the earliest time capsules ever left behind for future generations to discover. ||||| While restoring an 18th century statue, Spanish historians found what appears to be a makeshift time capsule in an unlikely place—the buttocks of a statue. 
 
 The statue portrayed the image of Jesus Christ during the crucifixion and had been hanging in the church of St. Águeda in northern Spain. The centuries-old statue was starting to show cracks and was coming loose from its cross, explained Gemma Ramírez. 
 
 Ramírez is a preservationist with the Madrid-based group Da Vinci Restauro, which worked on keeping the statue in good condition. It was when they were lifting the statue onto a work table, said Ramírez, that they first noticed something was inside. 
 
 When they removed a section of the statue carved into the image of a cloth, Ramírez and her colleague discovered that the artwork's hollow bottom contained a document that details life in late 18th century Spain. 
 
 Two handwritten letters, yellow with age, were inside. They're dated from 1777 and signed by Joaquín Mínguez, a chaplain from the Burgo de Osma cathedral. 
 
 In his letters, Mínguez paints a picture of the region's day-to-day economic and cultural activity. The chaplain first notes that the statue was created by a man named Manuel Bal, who created other wooden likenesses for churches in the region. He then describes the successful harvests of various grains like wheat, rye, oats, and barley and stores of wine. 
 
 Mínguez also names diseases like typhoid fever plaguing the village during this time period, but adds that cards and balls were used for entertainment. 
 
 Outside of village life, Mínguez details Spain's political climate. He writes that King Carlos III is on the throne, and that the Spanish court is in Madrid. The letter even contains a mention of the deadly Spanish Inquisition, which lasted from 1478 to 1834. 
 
 The general and wide-ranging nature of Mínguez's letters mean he likely intended them to be a kind of time capsule for future generations, historian Efren Arroyo told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Arroyo added that it's uncommon to find artifacts hidden inside church statues. 
 
 It's one of the most surprising discoveries made by the restoration group, they say. The Madrid-based team has previously worked on restoring old paintings, statues, and antique furniture. 
 
 The recovered letters were sent to the Archbishop of Burgos, where they will be archived. A copy was made and placed back into the buttocks to preserve Mínguez's intent.
– It turns out Jesus' butt has a lot to teach us about life in 18th century Spain. A wooden statue of Jesus on the cross hanging in the Church of Santa Agueda in Sotillo de la Ribera, Spain, was old and in need of fixing up, Science Alert reports. According to National Geographic, a team of preservationists were lifting the statue, Cristo del Miserere, onto a work bench when they realized there was something inside it. The team discovered the buttocks-portion of the statue was removable and concealed a document signed in 1777 by Joaquin Minguez, the chaplain of the Cathedral of the Burgo de Osma. "Although it is usual for many sculptures to be hollow, it is not so much to find handwritten documents inside," Science Alert quotes historian Efren Arroyo as saying. Over both sides of two pages of paper, Minguez describes life in Spain in the late-1700s. He talks about harvesting wheat, rye, barley, and oats and discusses the region's wine production, Gizmodo reports. He names malaria and typhoid fever as dangerous afflictions and notes that entertainment is provided by "cards, ball, bald, bar and other puerile games." He mentions the Spanish Inquisition and King Carlos III and praises Manuel Bal, sculptor of Cristo del Miserere, as a "natural scholar." According to the New York Post, Minguez's document even names popular bullfighters of the time. Arroyo says the document appears to be an early form of time capsule. It has been archived for preservation, but a copy of Minguez's writing has been reinserted into Jesus' behind for future generations. (A nightclub's time capsule caused an evacuation in New York City.)