220 Year Old Time Capsule Found
Museum of Fine Arts Boston Head of Objects Conservation Pam Hatchfield removes a folded 19th century newspaper from a time capsule at the museum, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, in Boston. The original capsule was made of cowhide and believed to have been embedded in a cornerstone when construction on the state Capitol building began in 1795. The contents were shifted to a metal box in 1855 which was unearthed last month at the Statehouse.
The oldest known time capsule ever found in the U.S. was discovered earlier this month in Boston, Massachusetts. The copper container, around the size of a cigar box, was buried underneath the Massachusetts State House by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere in 1795, making it 220 years old as of this year. The capsule took seven hours to extract and was discovered by construction workers doing renovations on the State House, but this isn’t the first time it was unearthed.
In 1855, maintenance and expansion of the State House uncovered the time capsule. It was opened, the items were removed, documented, cleaned, and some items were even added before then it was put back in its rightful place and forgotten.
The Massachusetts Commonwealth and Museum of Fine Arts is responsible for this project and took its time to carefully take apart, record, and preserve the artifacts. The original items from 1795 included coins, newspapers, and a silver plaque believed to be engraved by Paul Revere himself. The added artifacts from 1855 were coins, newspapers, an impression of Massachusetts State Seal in use in 1855, and cards by architects G.J.F Bryant and J.R. Richard. All of which are very exciting finds. Pam Hatchfield, head of objects conservation for the museum, stated enthusiastically “This is the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on” and that she was absolutely amazed but the condition of the items.
Some of the artifacts are now valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars but thankfully there has been no talk of auctioning them off. After the Massachusetts Commonwealth and Museum of Fine Arts is finished recording and conserving the recovered treasures they will be put on display at the museum. William F. Galvin, secretary of the commonwealth, says that eventually the time capsule and its contents will be put back in its rightful place at cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House.
Although, one question still remains: Will we be adding anything new to the time capsule before it’s put back?
Quote: CNN, “1975 time capsule opened, centuries after Paul Revere and Samuel Adams buried it”, By Catherine E. Shoichet, Wed Jan 7 2015, (http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/us/feat-paul-revere-sam-adams-boston-time-capsule/)
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