A book found bricked in a fireplace is returned to an Australian library, 150 years overdue | CNN

MELBOURNE, AustraliaAP —

A book on Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library about 150 years late, with water damage from years bricked into a fireplace.

The book was returned to the library in the seaside town of Kiama last week by a local, Ross Simmons, who had found it during recent home renovations inside a tea crate bricked into a sealed fireplace, Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson said.

“We’ve never had anything that old come back to us,” Hudson said Thursday.

“I follow lots of libraries on social media and often you’ll get things that are maybe 30 or 40 years old when they’re cleaning out estates and stuff like that,” she added.