West Point cadets, historians and leaders came together on Monday for the big reveal. A time capsule found hidden in a Revolutionary War monument from 1828 was finally to be opened after months of waiting.
The hyped event was livestreamed on YouTube by the U.S. Military Academy and featured a number of speeches before and after the capsule's opening.
The small lead box was found in May during restoration to a monument honoring the Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who, as an officer of the Continental Army, designed wartime fortifications at the location along the Hudson River.
For months, questions circulated as to what could be inside.
In prerecorded videos shown during the livestream, cadets guessed what the findings could be. One cadet said a bayonet. Another cadet said a class ring. And another said utensils from the mess hall.
It was even speculated that Robert E. Lee, who was attending West Point at the time of the capsule's placement, may be connected to what was inside.
After explaining that X-ray images showed "anomalies" inside the container, historians who work at West Point carefully opened the top of the capsule.
U.S. & World
The historians and audience were left stunned, as it turned out the capsule was virtually empty.
"There are some items on the item that appear to be... we're not certain if it's soil or mud or dust that's accumulated there and hardened," said one of the historians analyzing the capsule.
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The event organizers admitted that the time capsule did not "meet expectations," but they are still holding out hope. They do not think that whoever put the capsule in the base of the monument would take the time to do so if it was empty, so they will evaluate and test the "silt" found to see what comes up.
They say the findings are possibly something "organic," or not something that could have lasted through the more than 190 years since the capsule's burial.
The lid also had a stamp for "E.W. Bank," but it does not appear to be known what the stamp is a reference to at this time.
