Hundreds of old documents uncovered during renovations at City Hall will be preserved and archived, the City of Hamilton said.

The Bermuda Archives has been granted a temporary custodial grant for the recovered Corporation of Hamilton items, which include 19th-century newspapers, old Hamilton tax records and minutes from corporation meetings from more than a century ago.

The records were found after City Hall underwent renovations to expand its lower levels.

Dwayne Caines, the City’s chief executive, said: “These precious artefacts surfaced just last month as we prepared to breathe new life into the basement level at City Hall.

“In the process of shuffling boxes in a dim storage room, our dedicated team stumbled upon these treasures of the past.”

He added: “We're thrilled to entrust them to the capable hands of the Bermuda Archives, who will meticulously catalogue and unveil their secrets."

Karla Ingemann, the acting government archivist, said that the most interesting find was a History of Hamilton manuscript written by TDB Talbot in 1949.

She explained that the manuscript would break down how the city used to spend money and who spent it, which many historians were curious about.

Ms Ingemann added: “The newspapers which were discovered were also a really cool find.

“I have never seen old newspapers consolidated chronologically in scrap books and professionally bound like that before.

“Their discovery will enable us to fill in any gaps that exist in existing collections and digitally replace any water damaged ones.

“Reading these old newspapers and documents really brings history to life.

“They tell stories about what people were eating, wearing and selling back then and really paint a picture of life at the time.”

All items will be available for public viewing at the end of this month when the items have been properly cleaned and catalogued.