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Workers Unearth 219-Year-Old Time Capsule At State House

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At the State House Wednesday, behind a chain-link fence, workers chipped away at the cornerstone of the building to extract a time capsule placed there in 1795.

After they removed the large building stone, a preservationist from the Museum of Fine Arts moved in to chisel away at the plaster on the bottom. Four silver-colored coins fell out. Then, the careful excavation continued in hopes of revealing the rest of the contents.

According to State House records, the capsule was buried by former Gov. Sam Adams, Paul Revere and William Scollay. It's believed to contain an engraved silver plate, newspapers, a seal of the Commonwealth, cards and a title page for the Massachusetts Colony Records.

But we'll have to wait a little longer to find out for sure. Once the capsule is finally removed, it will be sent to the Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be X-rayed, and then opened sometime next week.

So, we'll wait a little longer. After 219 years, we can wait a few more days.

This article was originally published on December 11, 2014.

This segment aired on December 11, 2014.

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