Time capsule, a miniature museum hidden ...

Dear readers,

In recent days, the American press spoke of an "historic" event in the discovery of americans "time capsule" : the rediscovery of the capsule of Paul Revere in a granite block at the State House of Massachusetts Boston.

Recall what are time capsule! In computer jargon, Time capsule is a computer data storage device, Network and Wireless. In other words, an external hard disk marketed by Apple Inc., which is not what we really want to talk about. 

In french, we called this object a "capsule temporelle". Backup collective work, the object is created so that future generations can have a point of view of old times at some point. Sometimes some of them are involuntary as Pompeii and the sudden stop of an entire city, or programmed such as the Crypt of Civilization, sealed in a hall in the Oglethorpe University at Atlanta. 

Getting back to our subject, the time capsule of Boston was released from his block of granite by a curator from the Museum of fine arts of Boston, Pam Hatchfield. The event was largely followed on Twitter.

The small green box, opposite picture, in copper alloy, has the size of a cigar box. She seems to contains, according to some sources, silver and copper coins from 1652 to 1855, an engraved silver plate, newspapers, a seal of the commonwealth, maps. The box was passed under X-ray last Sunday and the content should be revealed in few days.

The origin of these small conserved and protected objects date for part of them from 1795 and before. Samuel Adams, Governor, Paul Revere, famous patriot of the American Revolution, and William Scollay had buried them in 1795. The construction of the Massachusetts State House was completed in 1798. The time capsule was reopened in 1855 due to reparations of the building. They insert some new items and also coins in the seal of the granite rock, who felled during the opening of the block. They were inserted here as a good luck wish.

For more informations, look at these articles : first, second and third.

To conclude this little article, know that the Museum of fine arts of Boston present a room dedicated to ancient greek coins superbly carried out and documented. Wether it be a stater of Athens or Mysia, or even a créseïde of Lydia, the ancient coins of the museum are stunning to look at and we would love to possess certain.