--- title: Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston description: The copper box was entombed in the state capitol in 1795 canonical: https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-12T14:18:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:48:35.283Z article:section: History og:title: Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston og:description: The copper box was entombed in the state capitol in 1795 og:url: https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99cfa4beec37cb83/69876e6ce20a870c5ea83f88/time-capsule-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Time Capsule og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston twitter:description: The copper box was entombed in the state capitol in 1795 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99cfa4beec37cb83/69876e6ce20a870c5ea83f88/time-capsule-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston ## Video: Know Right Now: From California's Pineapple Express to Another Shutdown Drama [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: From California's Pineapple Express to Another Shutdown Drama](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yKgf4s2K.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2014-12-12. Watch this week's #KnowRightNow to catch up on the latest top stories_  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Dec 12, 2014 2:18 PM UTC  Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, holds a time capsule she had just removed from the cornerstone of the Statehouse in Boston,, Dec. 11, 2014. Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, holds a time capsule she had just removed from the cornerstone of the Statehouse in Boston,, Dec. 11, 2014.Stephan Savoia—AP  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Dec 12, 2014 2:18 PM UTC Someone call Nicholas Cage because Bostonians may have just [discovered](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/11/officials-attempting-remove-massachusetts-state-house-time-capsule-from/GqKAGMB8zvxF6F3L7tWBpM/story.html) a new real-life national treasure. A time capsule from 1795 in the form of a small copper box was unearthed in Massachusetts statehouse in Boston Thursday. The container was first placed in the cornerstone of the building on Beacon Hill by revolutionary war hero Paul Revere and the then-governor of Massachusetts, Samuel Adams. The cigar-box sized capsule will be x-rayed over the weekend and its contents revealed next week. The artifact is believed to be one of the oldest time capsules in Massachusetts, making it by default one of the oldest such items in the United States. During the excavation, coins fell out of the plaster that held the box in place, good luck tokens tossed in with the box when it was unearthed and reburied in 1855, the last time the time capsule was uncovered, The Boston Globe reports. \[[_The Boston Globe_](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/11/officials-attempting-remove-massachusetts-state-house-time-capsule-from/GqKAGMB8zvxF6F3L7tWBpM/story.html)\] _Read next:_ [_Here’s What Really Killed the Dinosaurs_](http://time.com/3629647/dinosaurs-volcanoes-extinction/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/"},"headline":"Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston","datePublished":"2014-12-12T14:18:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:48:35.283Z","description":"The copper box was entombed in the state capitol in 1795","url":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/","keywords":["Boston"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99cfa4beec37cb83/69876e6ce20a870c5ea83f88/time-capsule-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99cfa4beec37cb83/69876e6ce20a870c5ea83f88/time-capsule-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Time Capsule","caption":"Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, holds a time capsule she had just removed from the cornerstone of the Statehouse in Boston,, Dec. 11, 2014.","creditText":"Stephan Savoia—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/","name":"Time Capsule from Paul Revere and Samuel Adams Discovered in Boston"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: From California's Pineapple Express to Another Shutdown Drama","description":"Watch this week's #KnowRightNow to catch up on the latest top stories","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/yKgf4s2K/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-12T16:19:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yKgf4s2K.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/","duration":"PT1M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3631454/time-capsule-boston/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```