In December 2014, a water leak at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, turned into a voyage into the past. A time capsule from 1795 was retrieved for fear that the water may infiltrate the location where the container has lied dormant for over 200 years. The capsule resembling a cigar box was placed by none other than American founding fathers, Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. This is not the first time the capsule has seen daylight. In 1855, it was removed during emergency repairs in the State House. It was reburied after a thorough cleaning with acid. This caused great concern for Pamela Hatchfield, head of objects conservation at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, as it was not known if the acid had deteriorated the items. Last week Hatchfield and Malcolm Rogers, director of the museum, retrieved the ancient objects from the box. The treasures uncovered include a Massachusetts commonwealth seal, five folded newspapers, 24 coins and an inscribed silver plate believed to have been made by Revere. The items seem to be in relatively good condition. The coins vary in age, but the oldest was made of gold dating as far back as 1652. Revere was a prosecutor and silversmith, but he is most famously known for alerting that the British were coming to the town of Lexington, Massachusetts. Adams, cousin with American President John Adams, was a statesman essential in advocating independence from Great Britain. To put things in perspective, the year the brass box was buried, George Washington was President of the United States. The items will go on display at the museum for the time, but plans to return it back to the State House are in the works. Whether new, modern items will be added with it is still up for debate.
