Time capsules, or “time vessels,” are historic containers of materials or information typical of a specific period (e.g. coins, letters, pieces of technology) that are Buried and often intended to be unearthed several decades or centuries later. They have been around as early as 1795 as a means of communicating with future generations, celebrating an individual’s own achievements, or memorializing the establishment of a new building.
However, the notion behind the time capsule dates back to as early as ancient Mesopotamia with the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” which begins by telling the reader the location of a copper box that contains the tales of Gilgamesh. It was only in 1939 when the term “time capsule” was coined for the first time for the New York’s World Fair.
On April 17, 1966, three years before the inauguration of the CCP, Mrs. Imelda Marcos and seven representatives for the arts—Francisca Reyes-Aquino (Dance), Victorio Edades (Visual Arts), Guillermo Tolentino (Sculpture), Iñigo Ed. Regalado (Literature), Jovita Fuentes (Music), Antonio Toledo (Architecture), and Francisca Zamora (Drama)—lowered a time capsule in what would be the location of the CCP as a celebration of its development.
What do you think are the contents of this time capsule?
(Photos courtesy of the Philippine Institute of Architects, Inc. and Ar. Paulo Alcazaren)
