A 121-year-old time capsule containing newspapers and whisky has been found buried deep in the foundations of a Highland bridge.
The capsule – a metal case about the size of a shoe box – was discovered on the southern bank of the River Spey by workers rebuilding the Ruthven Bridge, near Kingussie.
The items are presumed to have been be put in place during the bridge’s original construction.
The box’s fascinating contents include a folded newspaper dated September 22, 1894, a paper scroll and a small bottle of whisky.
The artifacts have been passed into the care of the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, where staff are now working to investigate and preserve the items.
And now pupils at Kingussie Primary School placed their own 2015 capsule into the bridge as a replacement.
The 19th century discovery was made by workers from construction firm Morgan Sindall, whose area director for infrastruture Robert Ogg said: “It is fascinating to think these items have been sitting in the bridge’s structure for 121 years.
“The changes which have occurred since it was placed there are extraordinary. If you think that the bridge was being used by horses back then, it gives you a sense of the time which has passed.
“We have actually been working with Kingussie Primary School to create our own time capsule which we hope will last as long.”
Highland Council convener Isobel McCallum visited the site to see where the historical items were unearthed and to help pupils from Kingussie Primary bury their capsule.
She said: “It is a fascinating discovery and links the community with the people who were around in 1894 to see the time capsule buried.
“Time capsules are placed with the intention that they will be opened at a future date. The pupils burying their capsule can speculate as to when their own piece of history will be discovered in the years to come.”
The single-track bridge carries the B970 Kingussie to Speybridge road over the Spey, near the Ruthven Barracks visitor attraction.
In recent years the condition of the bridge deck had deteriorated to the extent that a three-tonne weight limit had been placed on it.
The £622,000 replacement project is expected to be complete in the autumn.