Time capsule buried at Forum complex in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv
The ancient Roman Forum complex in Bulgaria’s second city Plovdiv frequently delights archaeologists with things dug up – but for a change, an official ceremony saw something buried there to future generations to find.
Such is the determination that the time capsule buried in central Plovdiv on July 29 should last is that it was made to order by a Kazanluk plant that otherwise produces artillery shells, and it is no coincidence that it rather resembles one, without the pointy end that goes bang.
Estimates are that the time capsule should last anything from 1000 to 2000 years.
Before it was buried, it was struck several times with a hammer wielded by Plovdiv mayor Ivan Totev, all the better to seal it, apparently. The media were told that the time capsule is hermetically sealed to prevent oxygen getting in.
Having finished with the weighty hammer, Totev then threw it some metres up to the deputy mayor in charge of culture, calling out : “Hey Sasho, catch!”
Sasho – Alexander Durzhikov – did. No deputy mayors were harmed at the ceremony. In a helpful background note, Plovdiv media said that Totev and the deputy mayor were on good terms, and Totev was throwing with no malice in his aim.
News website podtepeto mused that Totev – who has announced that in Bulgaria’s autumn 2019 elections he will not be seeking a third term as mayor – and the deputy mayor could one day branch out as a hammer-throw act.
What’s in the time capsule? A durable polymer map of Plovdiv, a short history of the city and facts about its economic development and population. There is also a Bulgarian flag and other symbols of Plovdiv, such as plaques.
“This capsule has a lot of meaning. It can be opened in 1000 or 2000 years and give a historical idea of our time, to tell about our city in people in 2019,” said Totev, who added that in the time capsule he had left a message to whoever finds it: “Keep and love your city as we do”.
(Photo: podtepeto.com)
