How should I remove this discovery found behind the wall?

[Vix633]

During our renovations, I got curious about the reasons for a very deeply recessed window, with thoughts of being able to lower it to window seat height so it looked better. When we pulled off the interior wall panel, this bottle wall was revealed! Now we stood there exclaiming "What the heck?" for a few minutes before examining it closer. All the bottles are very solidly in there (someone knew how to mix concrete properly), and my sister tried drilling around the large bottle in attempts to get it out, but didn't have fantastic progress.

I really don't want to just take a sledgehammer to it, so I was after advice on the best method of removal please? The only thoughts I had was a small chisel and hammer, lol. I don't mind putting in the time to remove them properly as there's no rush. It would also be cool to preserve the bottles, the large one is an old Teachers whiskey bottle (my late fathers fave), and the 4X beer bottles could be used by someone else. All labels look to be from the 80's!

Thanks heaps in advance for your expert help!

[Kermit]

Wow, that is a surprise! You might like to charge entry to your house. Those houses made from bottles used to be big tourist attractions didn’t they?

[Vix633]

Hahaha - yes you're right they used to attract a lot of attention - how much should I charge?

I remember as well, there was a paua house back home in NZ, down in Bluff. Their whole interior was adorned with paua shells, which are gorgeous! 

I attempted a bottle garden edging project, but didn't like it in the end so went back to more traditional methods, lol.

[redracer01]

Chisel and a lot of patience. You may add an extra bottle or two while you chip away at the cement. At first I thought it was a form of insulation seeing that it was arranged so well. But having a second look, it seems it was your dad's collection that he wanted to show off. At some point in time he must have decided to cover it, as it was a more effective than removing what was sure to be a labor intensive job. Perhaps remove the covering and frame and re-frame to show off the bottles and keep dad's collection. Just a thought.

[Vix633]

I think you're right, there's no way around spending heaps of time and patience with a chisel if I want to avoid the sledgehammer! I'm more worried about all the broken glass it would result in - I give my 3 dogs free rein of the house and only restrict their access when working on something that wouldn't be good for them - but chances are that every piece of glass will not be picked up!
The only link to my Dad is that he liked that whiskey, lol, he wasn't the owner or doer of this lovely wall, but I can see how my post implied that
He was actually a very talented builder and furniture maker and if he had owned it the house would be immaculate - wouldn't that be nice right now when facing a whole house reno (and past owners mistakes) all by myself, lol.
I might think more about how I can turn it into a feature - I do like to salvage and repurpose old things, so will grab a bottle (a newer, full one) and have a ponder.
Thanks for your thoughts!