Mexico City - A time capsule was found atop a bell tower at Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral, where it was placed in 1791 to protect the building from harm.
The lead box - filled with religious artifacts, coins and parchments - was hidden in a hollow stone ball to mark the moment on May 14, 1791.
Workers restoring the church found the box in October, inside the stone ball base of a cross that sits atop the 60-meter-high (200-foot) southern bell tower. Researchers spent the next three months opening the airtight box and preserving its contents.
Among them was a small case of wax blessed by the Pope that served to protect against mishaps.
Also inside was an engraving of Saint Barbara, a Roman Catholic martyr associated with lightning whose image served as "a religious lightening rod, to protect against damage."
A perfectly preserved parchment listed the time capsule's contents - including 23 medals, 5 coins, and five small crosses made of palm fronds - which it said were "for protection from the storms."
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