Is the orange tape seen around the stock 132 years old, too?
they applied the tape because they were worried the weathered stock might fall off in transit to its new home.
This was a remote location where it was found, increasing the odds that this really was out in the middle of nowhere for a century or more.
I think the picture shows that the orange tape was added after they found it, to hold it together.
I can easily believe that someone left it there a long time ago for any of a hundred different reasons. Death included.
Too bad that the person who originally found it did not take a series of photographs of it as was found, because the manner it was set down would have helped in the explanation.