Time capsule found at old Newcastle college

Time capsule found at old Newcastle college

THE contents of what is believed to have been a home-made time capsule have been uncovered in Newcastle.

South Eastern Regional College students Matthew Nicholl and Brian Murray came across the find while removing sandstone blocks from the College’s old Donard Street campus in the resort.

Matthew, from Ballynahinch and Brian, who lives in Downpatrick, were among a team of students tasked with removing sandstone blocks to relocate them to the new campus at the Castlewellan Road.

Things were going according to plan when the duo discovered a little piece of buried treasure in the shape of some old coins and a rolled up edition of the Belfast Telegraph dating back to 1929.

The coins and newspaper were discovered in one of the sandstone blocks which workmen building the old campus had hollowed out.

“It was hard to believe what we were seeing,” said Matthew.

“We found everything wrapped up to keep it protected. Whoever placed it there must have known it would be there for a long time before it was found.”

Matthew and Brian are part of the South Eastern College’s Training for Success group who currently don’t have work placements.

To address this, the College has organised a number of local projects to help them get the practical skills and employment experience they will need whenever they finish their course.

College technical officer, Tom Trainor, who was with the students as they worked on the project, said the organisation arranged for students to go to the old site in Donard Street to give them experience of extracting sandstone.

“The work also gave them a chance to help design a new garden at the new campus and they now have experience in archaeology as well,” he added.

The old coins and newspaper are currently on display at Newcastle campus so staff, students and members of the public can view artefacts which had been buried for 83 years before their discovery.