BREAKING: Time Capsule Buried by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams FOUND [PHOTOS] Friday, December 12th, 2014 In what could be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Boston history, conservators from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts recovered an unopened time capsule, possibly the oldest in America, first planted in 1795 by then-Massachusetts governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Fox News reported this story earlier today. The capsule, which is made of cowhide, was buried in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House and originally discovered in 1855 during renovations by the 23rd governor of the state, Henry Gardner. When Gardner reburied the capsule in the cornerstone, silver coins were thrown in with it for good luck. As conservator Pam Hatchfield chiseled away at the stone block for hours to recover the capsule, the rare coins fell to the ground, still in good condition. Experts are hopeful that this means that the items in the capsule itself are also intact and can give us important information about Boston’s history. “There were some coins that were tossed in the 1855 ceremony in the mix of the mortar. They are in good condition so we are optimistic that the box itself has withstood the test of time and that it will therefore be holding the contents securely,” said Secretary of State William Galvin, who also heads the state’s historical commission. He added that both the initial 1795 burial and the 1855 exhumation of the capsule were well-chronicled, so they have a pretty good idea of what’s inside. “What we know the box contains, based on the notes that we have, is a Paul Revere plate, papers, and coins from the 1600s. It may contain other stuff too, we don’t know that yet,” he said. The capsule will be X-rayed to get an idea of the condition of the items within, and the box will be opened and the items publicly displayed as early as next week. The Secretary of State will make a decision whether to add items from the current era to the box when it is returned to the cornerstone next year. This is where crews today will be unearthing a 1795 time capsule here at the State House. #wbz pic.twitter/oTZUhrxPay — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 The time capsule, first buried by Paul Revere and Sam Adams, contains old coins and other old stuff. #wbz pic.twitter/wPEamGWnKW — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 A person from the MFA will chip away at the bottom of this cornerstone to retrieve the time capsule. pic.twitter/hmF8E9Gm5I — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 A coin that apparently fell out of the time capsule here at the State House. pic.twitter/sTQf6qOcFV — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 This is an iPhone picture of the time capsule which is still embedded in the corner stone. pic.twitter/Af8eq1cMjk — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 These are three dimes from 1854 which fell out of the chipped cornerstone in the time capsule recovery process. pic.twitter/g5QpP1oUoS — Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) December 11, 2014 Taking quite awhile. Some coins have fallen out but workers still trying to remove time capsule at statehouse. #wbz pic.twitter/wb9dj6dCtm — Mark Katic (@MarkKWBZ) December 11, 2014 I, for one, can’t wait to see what these two famous patriots found worthy of preserving for posterity. We can only hope this discovery will generate more interest in America’s founding era and remind us all of our rich history.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 07:13:33 +0000
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