Earliest evidence of objects intended for future archaeologists?
Upvote:6
The modern sense of the word "archaeology" is less than 200 years old. Antiquarianism is only 400 years old.
Thus, there can't be anything "intended for future archaeologists" more than 400 years old.
Upvote:19
The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians, from about 3000 BC on, used to bury clay tablets in the foundations of their temples and other major buildings giving the name of the king who founded the temple and threatening to curse anyone who might in the future destroy the building. These inscriptions were not addressed to their contemporaries (they were buried underground) but to future generations. Not archaeologists, of course.
Upvote:39
Coins, dedications, and other 'ritual' objects have been buried in the foundations of buildings since prehistory. The function of these artefacts is unclear, but they do not appear to have been placed there for future generations.
What you are looking for is usually called a 'time-capsule', and as the Wikipedia article observes:
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians.
Wikipedia also has a list of time capsules, broken down by country. The oldest example on this list seems to be the Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule. This was located in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House, and is:
... believed to have been buried in 1795 by then-Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
The time capsule was opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2015.
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