Dating the Bottle Artefact
With a bit of time before the Rennes Group meeting, I set about dating the bottle. As I knew nothing about bottle history or manufacture, I turned to the web to do a search. Surprisingly there were a lot of web sites on this subject and I found one of particular use as it had instructions on how do date bottles. I also e-mailed Digger Odell for any information he could give me concerning the bottle. Click link below to see my email.
http://www.bottlebooks.com/questions/July%202005/july_2005_questions__ask_digger.htm
By using Digger Odell's advice and information on his web-site I was able to accurately date the bottle.
There are three key ways that are commonly used to help with dating most bottles:
As I wanted to preserve the bottle seal I decided the best way to get at the message was to cut the bottle in half. I also thought it unlikely the message would fit back through the neck now it has unrolled inside.
I opened the bottle using Home made Bottle cutter, fashioned from 2 paint rollers and a glass cutter.As the bottle was turned the glass cutter fixed between the rollers, cut into the glass. I had practiced cutting ten bottles with a success ratio of six breaking and four being cut successfully. I had consulted a glass cutter and he informed me that the bottle would have become brittle over time and the likely hood of it not breaking in the attempt to open it was slim. Not to be disillusioned I placed the bottle in between the rollers and proceeded to cut the bottle. Unfortunately while gently tapping the cut in the glass the top broke off around the top seam. Obviously its weakest point. The bottle though was now in two halves so I could now at last read the message.
The Base
There are no Pontil marks on the Base so we know it is not a blown bottle and so must date from an earlier period when this type of bottle manufacture was less common or no longer used.
Bottle seams.
A Seam is made where parts of a bottle are joined, usually by being formed in a Mould. If you look at any modern machine made bottle you will see two seams running the length of the bottle. The artefact Bottle has no Seams running along its length, from this we can tell it is not a modern machine made bottle. It does though have a Seam running around its circumference just where the bottle starts to bevel inwards towards the neck. Another Seam runs from this seam to the top of the neck but not over the lip, it stops at the wider top. Comparing these seams with a bottle bearing the same marks with a known date and type of manufacture, we can tell the Artefact Bottle was formed in a Three Piece Mo ld.
Top or Lip Type
The Top of the Artefact Bottle has not been formed as part of the 3 - piece mould but has been formed and then added to the neck. The join can easily been seen. ( and felt now the Bottles is in half.)
From the above information collected by my research and Bottle Experts I consulted, the bottle was manufactured between 1840 - 1910 but probably, because of the Lip type, nearer to 1890 - 1910.
This then dates the bottle to the time of Sauniere and so he could have been the one that wrote the message and then sealed it inside the Bottle and then buried it near to Rennes-le-Chateau, leaving clues embedded in the decorations of his church to its whereabouts. This though is just the first part of the evidence so is still speculation on my part.
Follow this link for information away from this web-site about Pontil marks, types of Blown bottles and lots of other bottle related information. Bottle Types and Information
3 - piece Bottle Mould
Other marks that identify the age of the bottle is the greenish colour of the glass and the amount of air bubbles trapped in the glass when it was made. Also the glass is not smooth, it is slightly dimpled, I believe the correct term is Whittle Marks. Whittle marks were caused by a reaction of the hot glass hitting the surface of a colder mould; cold relative to the temperature of the molten glass. You can just make out this effect in the above picture. There are also two Venting marks dating the bottle to mid to late 1880s to mid-1890s. Follow this link for more information about Whittle and Venting Marks. More Info
Bottle Seams Examination.