Experts conducting restoration work on a statue of Jesus in the Spanish village of Sotillo de la Ribera, in the province of Burgos, have discovered two handwritten notes dating back to 1777 in a hollow space behind the statue's buttocks.

The notes, reportedly written by Joaquin Minguez, the chaplain of the cathedral in the nearby town of Burgo de Osma at the time, are said to have recorded Minguez's observations on topics such as economics, religion, politics and culture, Spanish media reported.

Local historian Efren Arroyo said that the author of the note, as well as the artist who created the statue, had clearly hoped that the notes would be found at some point, Spanish national newspaper El Pais reported. The newspaper also referred to the discovery as a "time capsule."

Although it is quite common for historic sculptures to have hidden cavities, it is extremely unusual for them to contain handwritten documents, said Arroyo.