The idea of preserving objects and messages for future generations is as old as civilization itself. Long before the term "time capsule" was coined, human beings were already seeking to project their existence beyond their own lifetime. From cuneiform tablets of Mesopotamia to sealed caskets in the foundations of modern buildings, this universal impulse spans eras, cultures, and continents. Here is a look back at a fascinating history, which is also the story of our relationship with time and memory.
The Earliest Traces in Antiquity
The oldest known examples of intentional preservation date back to ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of writing. The Sumerian, Akkadian, and later Neo-Babylonian kings had the custom of placing inscriptions in the foundations of temples and palaces. These "foundation deposits" contained clay tablets, inscribed copper nails, terracotta cylinders, and sometimes votive figurines. Their purpose was twofold: to invoke divine protection over the building and to transmit the builder's name to future generations.
King Nabonidus, the last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the 6th century BCE, was particularly famous for his archaeological interests. He deliberately excavated the foundations of ancient temples to find inscriptions left by his predecessors, sometimes over a thousand years old. One could say he was the first "opener" of time capsules in history.
In ancient Egypt, royal tombs served a similar role, although their primary purpose was religious. The tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter on November 4, 1922, in the Valley of the Kings, contained over 5,000 objects preserved for more than 3,300 years: furniture, clothing, jewelry, food, board games, and musical instruments. The result is that of an unintentional time capsule: a complete snapshot of daily life, craftsmanship, and beliefs of 14th-century BCE Egypt.
In China, the tradition of funerary objects also served to preserve a testimony for eternity. The Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, accidentally discovered in March 1974 near Xi'an by farmers digging a well, constitutes one of the most spectacular examples of large-scale intentional preservation: over 8,000 life-size soldiers, 130 chariots, and 670 terracotta horses, buried around 210 BCE to accompany the emperor in the afterlife. Each soldier has unique features, offering a striking portrait of the Chinese army of the era.
Cornerstones: When the Modern West Joins In
The practice of sealing objects within the cornerstones of public buildings developed in Europe and North America from the 18th century onward, often linked to Freemasonry and its foundation-laying rituals. Unlike ancient funerary deposits, these gestures were explicitly directed toward future living generations, not the afterlife.
One of the most famous examples is the capsule placed on July 4, 1795, by Samuel Adams, then Governor of Massachusetts, and Paul Revere, the celebrated patriot and silversmith, in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. This brass box contained coins minted between 1652 and 1795, five newspapers of the era, a medal of George Washington, and a silver plaque engraved by Paul Revere himself.
It was first opened in 1855, during repairs to the cornerstone, then resealed. In December 2014, a water leak led to its unexpected rediscovery during repair work. On January 6, 2015, it was ceremoniously opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in the presence of Governor Deval Patrick. The event made the front page of The New York Times.
In 1876, to celebrate the centennial of the United States, the Century Safe was created during the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. This imposing safe was filled with photographs, government documents, religious texts, autographs of famous figures, and a collection of objects representative of American life at the time. The project's president, Anna Diggs, a newspaper editor from Kansas, wished to offer future generations a faithful portrait of America in 1876. The safe was opened exactly 100 years later, on July 4, 1976, during the bicentennial celebrations, in the presence of President Gerald Ford.
The Invention of the Term "Time Capsule" in 1938
Paradoxically, the term "time capsule" was not coined until 1938, millennia after the earliest practices. It was George Edward Pendray, a public relations consultant and co-founder of the American Rocket Society, who proposed it for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The company was preparing a container for the 1939 New York World's Fair, and it needed a catchy name.
Pendray's first suggestion was "time bomb," inspired by the torpedo-like shape of the container. The idea was quickly abandoned: the geopolitical tensions of the late 1930s, with the rise of fascism in Europe and Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia, made the association with a bomb particularly ill-advised. The term "time capsule" was first used in a Westinghouse press release in 1938 and quickly entered common usage.
Before that date, people simply spoke of "boxes," "caskets," or sealed "safes" for the future, without any generic term existing to describe the practice as a whole.
The Golden Age of the 20th Century
The 20th century saw a veritable explosion of the time capsule phenomenon, driven by World's Fairs and widespread technological optimism. The Crypt of Civilization, designed by Dr. Thornwell Jacobs at Oglethorpe University in Georgia and sealed on May 28, 1940, is considered the first true planned time capsule of the modern era. Impressively large — an entire room measuring 6 meters by 3 — it is not to be opened until May 28, 8113, over 6,000 years from now.
The two Westinghouse capsules, buried at Flushing Meadows in New York in 1938 and 1965, popularized the concept with the international public. The first, created for the 1939 Fair, contained 35 everyday objects and microfilms. The second, buried during the 1964-1965 Fair, documented the progress of the intervening 25 years. Both will only be opened in the year 6939, 5,000 years after the first was buried.
In Japan, the 1970 Osaka World's Fair (Expo '70) gave rise to the creation of two identical capsules buried near Osaka Castle by the Panasonic Corporation (then Matsushita Electric). Each contains 2,098 objects representing Japanese and world civilization in 1970. One is opened every 100 years for inspection — the first opening took place on January 15, 2000. The other will not be opened until the year 6970.
The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS), founded in 1990 at Oglethorpe University by Paul Hudson, estimates that there are tens of thousands of time capsules around the world, but that nearly 80% of them are lost, forgotten, or destroyed before their planned opening date — a figure that underscores one of the major challenges of this practice.
The Digital Era: A New Chapter in History
In the 21st century, time capsules took a decisive turn with the advent of digital technology. The first online platforms like FutureMe, launched in 2002 by developers Matt Sly and Jay Patrikios, allow you to write a letter to your future self, delivered by email on a chosen date. The concept, disarmingly simple, has attracted millions of users around the world.
The shift to digital solves several historical problems of physical capsules: no risk of water infiltration, theft, demolition of the building housing them, or forgetting their location. You can include photos, videos, audio recordings, and text messages. The message arrives at its destination on the planned date, automatically, without a volunteer committee having to remember in 50 or 100 years.
Digital technology has also democratized the practice. For centuries, creating a time capsule was an act reserved for institutions, governments, or large corporations. Today, anyone can send a message to the future from their couch. This accessibility has transformed the very nature of capsules: they have become intimate and personal gestures, often addressed to oneself or to a loved one, rather than to all of humanity.
The history of time capsules is, at its core, the history of our universal desire to leave a trace — to tell the future: "We were here, and this is what mattered to us." With platforms like Capsul, this millennia-old tradition becomes accessible to everyone, from their phone, in just a few minutes.
Sources
- Jarvis, William E. *Time Capsules: A Cultural History*. McFarland & Company, 2002. - International Time Capsule Society (ITCS), Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia. - "Boston Time Capsule From 1795, Set by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, Is Opened," *The New York Times*, January 6, 2015. - Pendray, G. Edward. *The Book of Record of the Time Capsule of Cupaloy*. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1938. - Carter, Howard and Mace, Arthur C. *The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen*. Cassell, 1923. - Panasonic Corporation, "Time Capsule EXPO'70," official website.