Time Capsule from the 1820s opened at a US military academy

[Eldorado]

In a special ceremony at the US Military Academy at West Point, all eyes were on the mysterious lead box.

The object was buried in the 1820s, when future Confederate general Robert E. Lee was a graduate at the academy.

What they found inside was unexpected.

Video at the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-66642193

[+susieice]

Well, that was disappointing. I wonder why it was encased in lead and buried in the first place. Someone took time to make a lead box and solder a lid on it. 

(Maybe an old Jumanji game)

[Guyver]

That was a complete waste of time.  Why even make a thread on it?  I find time capsules really interesting, but a time capsule with nothing?  Sheez.  

[Robotic Jew]

There was obviously a ghost in it...we're all doomed. 

[Myles]

Did Geraldo Rivera host it?

[Abramelin]

21 hours ago, Guyver said:

That was a complete waste of time.  Why even make a thread on it?  I find time capsules really interesting, but a time capsule with nothing?  Sheez.  

Thanks. Your reply saves me from having to watch the video.

[fred_mc]

So, people had humour 200 years ago as well :-) .

[Stiff]

I was expecting a cat.

[Skulduggery]

I'm guessing it was to prank a future generation. Someone was probably chuckling as they farted in it and sealed it up.

[+Hammerclaw]

Someone helped themselves to the items, then sealed or resealed the capsule before it was buried.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Hammerclaw

[jmccr8]

Who knows maybe it was a canned hot air speach by some general that has now been lost because it escaped when improperly opened.

[Chaldon]

If it's not a joke and not a clever philosophical feat, then the message may be too small to be seen. Did they look well enough? It may be some microscopic engraving, the methods of the time already allowed such things to be done by some watchmakers. Or it contained spores of a deadly bacteria?

[qxcontinuum]

Probably whatever was insight was stolen in the past and box was sealed and re burried.

[+susieice]

Something was in the box after all.

West Point time capsule: Coins and medal found in mysterious box - BBC News

Yet further examination and a careful sift through the silt revealed a medal and six very old coins.

 

The coins were minted in years ranging from 1795 to 1828. with values ranging from one cent up to one dollar.

The box also contained a medal that celebrates the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The canal was built in eight years and connected the Hudson River in New York to the Great Lakes.

 

After the anti-climax of the event, West Point archeologist Paul Hudson used a wooden pick and a brush to carefully search the sediment inside the box.

[NCC1701]

A great find after all. This will keep archaeologists busy for a long time to come.

[Grim Reaper 6]

A time capsule that was buried in 1829 was recently discovered and opened for the first time, nearly 200 years later. The hidden piece of history was found at the United States Military Academy in New York, better known as West Point. A team of historians and archaeologists at the academy had the incredible honor of opening the relic as a room full of people and a camera crew eagerly awaited the big unveiling.

See link for a list of items.

Time Capsule From 1829 Opened at West Point, Historic Artifacts Found Inside (msn.com)