83 years have passed since the Crypt of Civilization was shut. Not until the year 8113 CE will it be reopened.
The vault will not be seen again for millennia.
Dr. Thornwell Jacobs saw how little reliable information about past civilizations had persisted while he studied past Egypt. He understood that the pyramids and a few inscribed tablets discovered in ancient Assyria were the primary sources for almost all of our knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture.
He had the thought that leaving behind documentation of our way of life would be beneficial—indeed, it was our "archaeological duty"—for later civilizations to study. He had imagined the first time capsule of the modern era, a word he would later coin.
While serving as president of Oglethorpe University in Georgia, Jacobs began work on the time capsule at Phoebe Hearst Hall. It was a sizable room that was hidden in a disused swimming pool and would be filled with relics from 1930s society as well as information from the previous 6,000 years.
The vault, which was built to resemble a pharaoh's tomb, had 100 volumes on microfilm as well as recordings of clarinetist Artie Shaw, who was well-known in the 1930s, movies of events that were captured on camera starting in 1898, and movies of other historical events. A small Donald Duck model was among the common objects. However, there was no gold, jewelry, or other valuables present.
For future humans, a new species of hyper-intelligent dogs, or whoever is in power at the time, a "book of records" identifying and describing all the goods and their uses was also left.
It's important to remember that Jacobs' selection of items is very much a reflection of the time and of his prejudiced opinions, and is not necessarily an accurate image of America in the 1930s.
The International Time Capsule Society co-founder Paul Hudson described the vault as "pulsating with life." It has life and breath in it. It is bigger and older than we are all combined. Can you see a sociologist opening the crypt in the year 8113? It resembled a hidden treasure trove. It would be fascinating to learn about even dental floss.
He understood that there might be a language barrier between us (dead) and whoever discovered it (alive), rendering the books within the capsule nothing more than worthless paperweights. He referred to his solution as a "language integrator" The hand-cranked device showed photos of various objects together with the English name of the object. The name would also be spoken aloud simultaneously by a voice on the phonograph.
The time capsule was scheduled to be opened in 8113 CE. Jacobs stated that 6,177 years had passed since the invention of the Egyptian calendar in 1936, the year in which he received the notion. He desired for whoever (or whatever) unlocked the safe to have a glimpse of the juncture between their time and the time of the ancient Egyptians.
You can't enter right now. However, if you can't wait 6,000 years to see the crypt, you can go to the locked door.
The vault was sealed four years after Jacobs had the idea, in hopes that it would be discovered again thousands of years from today as the globe entered globe War II. The hopeful assessment of human longevity stood in sharp contrast to the message Jacobs had left in the tomb.
We leave it to you here in this crypt as the rest of the world works to bury our civilization forever.
