World · Africa · 1 hr ago
A 1977 message in an Egyptian desert bottle leads researchers to a family in Malta
A Bedouin guide found a bottle in Egypt’s Western Desert with a handwritten note dated May 1977.
The note included clues that helped researchers trace the writer’s family to Malta.
Accounts disagree about the geophysicist’s name: one calls him John Reynolds, while another identifies him as Maltese geophysicist Tom Moran.
The account naming Moran says he worked in Egypt for a US oil company and died in 1998, without knowing the bottle would be found.
The dry desert helped preserve the bottle and paper for nearly five decades.
The discovery reconnected the family with a record of the geophysicist’s work and showed how field notes can preserve scientific history.
A glass bottle found in Egypt contained a handwritten message dated May 1977 and led researchers to a geophysicist’s family in Malta.
The bottle was found in the Wadi Jadid area of Egypt’s Western Desert by Bedouin guide Suleiman Zidan.
The note included the name Tom Moran, a work code and an address linked to Malta, helping researchers trace his family.
Moran’s sister, Carmen Rossiter, recognized his handwriting after the note was shared online.
The articles disagree on the geophysicist’s name: CNN Brasil identifies him as Tom Moran, while AcreNews calls him John Reynolds.
- Who
- Bedouin guide Suleiman Zidan found the bottle; researchers and relatives helped identify its author.
- What
- A bottle containing a message dated May 1977 was found and traced to a geophysicist’s family in Malta.
- When
- The message was dated May 1977; the bottle was found nearly 50 years later. The discovery date is not stated.
- Where
- Wadi Jadid in Egypt’s Western Desert; the address on the note was associated with Malta.
- Why
- Not stated why the author left the message in the bottle.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The handwritten message in the bottle was dated.
Suleiman Zidan found the bottle in the Wadi Jadid area of Egypt’s Western Desert.
Zidan and his cousin sent a photograph of the note to Times of Malta, and researchers checked its details against public records.
Carmen Rossiter recognized her brother’s handwriting.
- Note date
- May 1977
- Discovery area
- Wadi Jadid, Egypt’s Western Desert
- Finder
- Suleiman Zidan, a Bedouin guide
- Name on note
- Tom Moran, according to CNN Brasil; John Reynolds, according to AcreNews
- Work code
- Party 6305
- Family location
- Malta
3 sources
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