Disappointment as mysterious 1820s West Point time capsule is opened
A recently discovered 19th Century time capsule has been opened at the West Point Military Academy in the United States, but despite a huge amount of excitement about what it might have contained, the box was found to be empty.
The grey lead box, which measured 30cm by 30cm by 33cm, was discovered in the base of the Thaddeus Kosciuszko monument during recent renovations on the grounds of West Point, the United States' equivalent to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The opening ceremony was live-streamed on YouTube, and thousands watched as the anti-climactic opening took place.
The Kosciuszko Monument Time Capsule was opened in the Robinson Auditorium at Thayer Hall and was attended by high-ranking officials from the US military and academic historians.
But when the lid of the box was removed nothing of interest was found inside.
The box was examined by members of the West Point Museum staff, who found nothing more than what they believed to be soil, mud or dust.
While the hall had been filled with excitement with the prospect of finding a piece of the academy's past, the atmosphere was quickly replaced by disappointment.
The ceremony was led by historian Jenn Voigtschild who said during the opening address, there were no records of a box being placed at the base of the Thaddeus Kosciuszko statue when it was believed to have been created in 1829.
She said: "Our researchers have found no reference to a box, artefact, time capsule or any other object being put inside the base."
After opening the box, West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson said: "The box didn't quite meet expectations.
"We don't want to think that they went to all that trouble to put this box in the monument and not put anything in it. What we're going to do is collect all the silt, and at a later point we will screen it to see if we can find any remains."
West Point officials determined the capsule had been placed in the base of the Kosciuszko monument 195 years ago.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish general, military engineer and revolutionary who fought for the US in the American Revolutionary War.
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