The oldest time capsule ever discovered in the United States, dating back to 1795, was opened for the first time in nearly 200 years on Wednesday, ABC News reported.
Pamela Hatchfield led the opening at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and inspected a newspaper inside the capsule. It took her nearly five hours to unscrew the casing and was first uncovered in early December.
"This is clearly a newspaper and it's really packed in there," Hatchfield said, wearing gloves and a white coat with small and precise extracting tools. They also found coins in various amounts.
"Conservation happens at a glacial pace," Hatchfield said. "If at any point we find things can be imperiled or damaged by removing them, we are going to have to stop. I do apologize in advance. We just do not know."
Taking care is likely very important, with some items being as much as 220 years old. Paul Revere, an American Patriot and Gov. Samuel Adams hid the gift for the future under a Boston Statehouse cornerstone, sealing it away for centuries.
Other items in the historic relic included a silver plate made by Paul Revere himself, colonial records and newspapers from the time.
The exact date it was placed in the building was July 4, 1795, at the same time as the country's 20th birthday. The items will likely be on display at a museum before being being back into the state house cornerstone, NBC reported.
Its contents were last seen in 1855, according to project officials. That is when other pieces of history were added to the box - like other newspapers and coins - and placed in brass that was eventually re-sealed in the granite cornerstone.
It was recovered again on Dec. 11 when repair crews were looking into plumbing issues on that end of the building. It was X-rayed three days later, and was found to weigh 10 pounds.
