First Conference of the International Time Capsule Society, Osaka, Japan, September 2000

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CCI Newsletter, No. 26, November 2000

First Conference of the International Time Capsule Society, Osaka, Japan, September 2000

by Robert L. Barclay, Senior Conservator, Treatment and Development Division (Objects)

Figure 1

Figure 2

A time capsule exactly like this display model (top) was buried in the grounds of Osaka Castle (bottom) at the Osaka World's Fair in 1970.

Over the years I have fielded many enquiries about the conservation considerations of time capsules, and have written a brief CCI Note1 on the topic. That publication led to correspondence with other time capsule specialists worldwide, and an introduction to the International Time Capsule Society (ITCS). Composed of anthropologists, ethnologists, journalists, librarians, and many other professions, the membership is devoted to time capsule studies at a serious and scientific level.

The first conference of the ITCS was organized by Dr. Kenji Yoshida of the Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, and I was delighted to have been invited to take part. The conference was planned to coincide with the opening of the upper section of the Osaka World's Fair time capsule, which had been enclosed in the grounds of Osaka Castle in 1970. This upper capsule is to be inspected regularly, while the lower one is to remain in place and untouched for another 4970 years.

The conference opened with a well-attended public forum. The program featured papers on a wide and varied range of time capsule issues, including my presentation ("Security and Longevity: Mere Details Neglected") which discussed the conservation considerations of time capsule design and construction. The final event was an in-depth discussion session. The many sponsors of the conference are to be congratulated for contributing to such a ground-breaking gathering.

For those with an interest in time capsules, the proceedings of the conference should be published in the near future. In the meantime, a visit to the ITCS Web site (http://www.oglethorpe.edu/itcs) will provide more information.

  1. Canadian Conservation Institute. Time Capsules. CCI Notes, No. 1/6. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute, 1995, 6 pp. [This publication is available on the CCI Web site (http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca).]