When a French family bought a small house in the village of Belabre in the southwest of the country, they had no idea they were about to open a portal to the past. The mid-19th-century house had been vacant for six years before being purchased by a young couple in 2020. As they began renovations, they discovered a hidden room bricked up behind a wall. Upon breaking through the bricks, they were astonished to find themselves transported into another era. The room contained items that were over a century old.

Among the findings was a military jacket standing on a stand in the center of the room. Moths had clearly taken their toll, but the jacket still appeared almost new. On the table, they found a variety of intriguing items: pistols, candlesticks, an ashtray, and old photographs.

Also in the room was a small bottle of dirt, with a note attached that read: “Soil from Flanders, where our son Hubert Rocher rested for four years.” Nearby, a bed was adorned with the medals of the former occupant, and above it hung a large portrait of a young man in uniform. The new owners became curious about this Hubert Rocher.

It turned out that Hubert’s parents had decided never to enter his room again, sealing it off with bricks. In 1935, they sold the house to a general, who swore not to disturb the bricked-up wall. After the general, the house was passed down through his family for several decades. The last owner passed away in 2014, which is when the property was put up for auction.