A time capsule believed to be buried by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams in 1975 has been unearthed at the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston. According to the Huffington Post, the capsule was discovered this week when workers who had been repairing a water leak in the building stumbled upon it.

It took about seven hours and a dozen workers to carefully remove the capsule, and its discovery excited many people, both experts and local residents alike. Museum of Fine Arts conservator Pam Hatchfield stated of the find, "I feel happy and relieved. And excited. And really interested to see what's in this box...

I have been privileged to spend all of my working life handling incredibly precious and important objects, and it is very exciting every single time...The sense of continuation of history that you get by entering a museum or historic site, but also by having it in your hands, is incredibly rewarding and enriching. And it gives meaning to a lot of people."

The Boston Globe reports that the time capsule is historically recorded to have been buried in 1795 by Governor Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and William Scollay in a ceremony that started in downtown Boston and proceeded to the State House. It was unearthed during emergency repairs to the foundation in 1855 and then buried again, and had not been rediscovered since.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has since stated that the capsule contains a collection of silver and copper coins dating from between 1652-1855, a silver plate, newspapers, and the seal of the Commonwealth among other artifacts.

He stated, "Hopefully there will be no damage and we will be able to observe the artifacts that trace us back to the history not only just of this building, but of our Commonwealth and our country," conveying his excitement at the find and what new pieces of history it could help to fill in.

The time capsule has since been taken to the Museum of Fine Arts by the State Police, where it will be X-rayed in order to better determine its contents. Once fully examined, the capsule will be re-buried.