Crypt of Civilization

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The Crypt of Civilization is an impenetrable, airtight, room-sized time capsule, built between 1937 and 1940, at Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, Georgia. The repository is meant not to be opened before 8113 AD. It contains numerous artifacts and sound recordings that illustrate civilization and human development to the 20th century. Classic literature and religious texts were also deposited, as well as items showing the extent of scientific progress to 1939.

Thornwell Jacobs, the initiator of the project, was inspired by the opening of Egyptian pyramids and wanted to create a repository of everyday 1930s objects and a record of human knowledge over the preceding 6,000 years. The Guinness Book of Records declared the Crypt to be the first genuine attempt to permanently preserve a record of 20th century culture for people of thousands of years into the future.

Beginnings

thumb|upright 1.750|Oglethorpe University – location of the Crypt is in the basement

Thornwell Jacobs (1877–1956), President of Oglethorpe University from 1915 to 1944, is considered the father of modern time capsules by historian Paul Stephen Hudson. Jacobs was engaged in research in the 1920s for one of his books when he was astounded by the meager amount of detailed information available about ancient Egyptian life. He realized that practically all the accumulated knowledge we had of the civilization was based on two incomplete sources. One being the items found in tombs of the Pharaohs of Egypt and the kings of Sumeria and Babylonia. The second was from rock inscriptions and tablets found in ancient Assyria. He determined that while the ancient items found gave some degree of life events from thousands of years ago there were no complete and accurate records on any single generation of how people lived.

Jacobs' vision was to make available to some civilization far in the future a kind of latter-day Egyptian style tomb of a complete cross section record of physical and visual items showing the life and traditions that people had developed to the time of the closing of the crypt. In 1935, he discussed this idea with the editor of Scientific American, Orson Munn, and he promised to use the magazine to publicize the project. In November 1936 an article was published describing the time capsule project. Jacobs sought the help of scientist Thomas K. Peters and the project was started in August 1937. By June 1940 they had collected all the items they thought represented human life on earth of the previous 6000 years. Jacobs calculated that 6,177 years had passed since the start of the Egyptian calendar (4241 BC) and proposed the creation of a Crypt of Civilization to be opened in 8113 CE after another 6,177 years.

The Crypt of Civilization was constructed in the swimming pool in the basement of the Phoebe Hearst Hall at Oglethorpe University. The swimming pool was modified into an airtight chamber, measuring long, high and wide, which was remodeled between 1937 and 1940. It sits on a bedrock floor and has a stone roof thick. The chamber resembles a room of an ancient Egyptian pyramid with artifacts placed on shelves and the floor. Many items are stored in stainless steel holders, lined with glass and filled with an inert gas to prevent aging, a concept later carried over to the Westinghouse Time Capsules. There is a small windmill inside the vault that will make electricity to operate the electrical items buried in the time capsule.

Many of the artifacts were donated and contributions were received from the King of Sweden Gustav V and Eastman Kodak. Other artifacts deposited were seed samples, dental floss, a woman's purse with typical contents, some Artie Shaw records, an electric toaster, a pacifier, a bottle of Budweiser beer encapsulated in special material for preservation, a manual typewriter, an electronic radio, a store cash register, an office adding machine, and an electric sewing machine. Children's toys were deposited as well, including Lincoln Logs, a plastic Donald Duck, a miniature plastic statue of the Lone Ranger, and a cloth and wooden black doll. AMORC was asked by Peters to send from their archives manuscripts of their philosophy to be deposited inside the Crypt time vault with the other artifacts that are to be seen by those of 8113 CE when the time capsule reopens. Collected also for the time treasure was film on Ohio's industrial and historical scenes including travelogues and agricultural scenes of the state. There are also glass bell jars that hold less than life size models of men and women dressed in 1930s clothing.

The crypt contains voice recordings of leaders from the 1930s, including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Benito Mussolini. The sounds of Popeye the Sailor Man and a professional pig caller were stored inside the crypt. Peters, the archivist, placed electric microfilm readers and picture projectors in the chamber to allow future generations to view and listen to the recordings. He also provided a windmill to generate electricity to run the devices, as well as a magnifier for the microfilm records, if electricity were not in general use by the 82nd century. Engraved steel panels of the Atlanta Journal newspaper showing reports from the first year of World War II, were also placed in the crypt. Peters also left behind a device of his innovation called a "Language Integrator", a modified Mutoscope that was a hand-operated movie projector with sound that would teach English to the future generation that came upon the crypt. This was a type of Rosetta Stone and another concept carried forward to the Westinghouse Time Capsules.

Promotion

thumb|upright 1.0|Stone Mountain in US state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]

In 1937, Jacobs spoke on the National Broadcasting Company in New York to promote the Crypt on nationwide radio. A dedication ceremony at the Oglethorpe University campus took place in May 1938, led by David Sarnoff of Radio Corporation of America and the Paramount newsreels of the occasion were later placed in the crypt.

Jacobs and Peters permanently closed off the crypt in a ceremony that was announced in a newscast by Atlanta's WSB radio May 25, 1940. The Crypt of Civilization regained prominence from 1999 to 2001 as a result of the Millennium celebrations. The story of the Crypt was published in major newspapers all around the world.

Peters observed that the fact of such a project designed for people that would not even be born for more than six millennia is the built-in belief that the human race will still exist and that therefore there is a need for historical preservation. He further shows that there is even a hint of reincarnation by the fact that newspaper reporter and historian Frank G. Menke asked the movie star singer Bing Crosby to be Master of Ceremonies at the opening of the crypt in 8113 CE. Crosby responded to this by saying he would be glad to do that as long as his filming schedule at the time would allow it.

Crypt of Civilization

Beginnings

Promotion

See also

References

Note

Sources

External links