‘World’s oldest time capsule’ – dating back to 1726 – is found in Polish church spire, containing 300-year-old coins, Latin documents and a lead bullet

• Box discovered during renovation at Church of St Stanislaus in Wschowa, Poland

A Polish museum has claimed to have found the oldest time capsule in the world in a church spire, containing 300-year-old coins, Latin documents and a deformed lead bullet. 

The box allegedly dates back to 1726 and was discovered during renovation work at the Church of St. Stanislaus in the small town of Wschowa, in western Poland.

The age of the capsule has yet to be confirmed, but if it actually is from 1726, it would make the find older than the current record holder from US city Boston.

The town’s museum called it a ‘unique find’ and said on social media: ‘The oldest time capsule in the world found in Wschowa.

‘The oldest capsule takes the form of a box made of copper sheet, with the date 1726 stamped on its lid. 

The box (pictured here) allegedly dates back to 1726 and was discovered during renovation work at the Church of St. Stanislaus in the small town of Wschowa, in western Poland

The age of the capsule has yet to be confirmed, but if it actually is from 1726, it would make the find older than the current record holder from Boston, US

The time capsule was found in the church spire of the Church of St. Stanislaus in Wsachowa, western Poland

READ MORE: Europe’s OLDEST time capsule – dating back to 1797 – is discovered hidden in a Polish church spire, containing coins and building documents

‘The time capsule consisting of four packages from 1726, 1786, 1884 and 1914 was extracted from the sphere at the top of the tower of the parish church.’

The current oldest known time capsule, whose age has been verified, was discovered in Boston at the Massachusetts State House in 2014, hidden behind a painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River.

Inside one of the newly discovered caskets, museum conservators found a parchment written in Latin which when translated chronicled a devastating fire that engulfed the town and reduced the church to ashes.

They also found a lead bullet that had been shot into the casket and damaged some of the documents.

Inside a smaller casket they found coins from the 18th and 19th centuries wrapped in newspapers.

The town’s museum called it a ‘unique find’ and said on social media: ‘The oldest time capsule in the world found in Wschowa. The oldest capsule takes the form of a box made of copper sheet, with the date 1726 stamped on its lid’

The museum said: ‘The time capsule consisting of four packages from 1726, 1786, 1884 and 1914 was extracted from the sphere at the top of the tower of the parish church’

The capsule was found in the small town of Wschowa, in the western part of Poland

Inside one of the newly discovered caskets, museum conservators found a parchment written in Latin which when translated chronicled a devastating fire that engulfed the town and reduced the church to ashes

They also found a lead bullet that had been shot into the casket and damaged some of the documents

The museum said: ‘Above the lock and on the bottom there is a date stamped three times from the second opening in 1884.

‘The bottom was shot through with a small caliber lead bullet found inside the box.

‘The smaller casket contained coins wrapped in newspapers in two separate packages.’

Museum experts say they will now translate all the documents and thoroughly examine the contents of the latest find.

During the 18th century, the town of Wschowa served as the second, ‘unofficial capital of Poland’.

In 1793, as a result of the second partition of Poland, the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. It returned to Polish hands after WWII.

Inside a smaller casket they found coins from the 18th and 19th centuries wrapped in newspapers

The museum said: ‘Above the lock and on the bottom there is a date stamped three times from the second opening in 1884. ‘The bottom was shot through with a small caliber lead bullet found inside the box’

Museum experts say they will now translate all the documents and thoroughly examine the contents of the latest find. During the 18th century, the town of Wschowa served as the second, ‘unofficial capital of Poland’

Meanwhile, the previously oldest time capsule in Europe was discovered in Poland in 2020 and dates back to 1797.

It was found in a church spire in the town of Ziębice, 115 miles south of the most recent discovery.

Opening it up, town officials found 200-year-old old coins and documents dated 1797 written in German. 

In the 18th century the town was called Münsterberg and was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. 

The town’s mayor Mariusz Szpilarewicz said: ‘All indications are that it may be one of the oldest time capsules found in the world.

‘The oldest capsule in the world dates back to the 18th century and was discovered in Boston, USA. Our capsule is probably two years younger than the Boston one.’

The capsule was found by workers during renovations of the church (pictured) and the contents were handed over to town officials, who have examined the contents

The capsule was hidden inside the spire of the church (pictured). The town’s mayor Mariusz Szpilarewicz said it may be one of the oldest time capsules found in the world

The oldest capsule in the world was discovered at the Massachusetts State House in Boston in 2014 after crews removed the time capsule from the granite cornerstone of the building.

Inside was an engraved silver plate proclaiming that the capsule was hidden in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, along with a host of other items. 

Originally made of cowhide, the time capsule was believed to have been embedded in the cornerstone when construction on the state Capitol began in 1795. Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time.

The time capsule was removed in the mid-19th century and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said. 

Its removal was due to an ongoing water filtration project at the building. 

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