Time Capsule Placed in Central Square of Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

A capsule with messages for future generations was built at the Rome Forum in Bulgaria's second-largest city of Plovdiv. Its reconstruction is part of a major renovation in the city's main square. The capsule contains information about the history and life of the ancient city, as well as interesting facts about 2019, the year in which Plovdiv is the European Capital of Culture.

The capsule is made of a bronze alloy and the material is corrosion-resistant. The artifact is sealed to prevent moisture and oxygen. The messages for future generations and the history of the city are printed on non-degradable polymeric paper.

Stefan Shivachev, the Director of the Regional Museum of History, in Plovdiv has explained that the paper is an artificial base and this paper has the guarantee for at least 100 or 200 years that in the absence of oxygen and lack of moisture it will not change its qualities.

The capsule also includes information about the Roman Forum and the reconstruction of the square. The names of the people involved in the major repairs have also been written. The symbols of the city can be found inside the capsule.

Ivan Totev, Mayor of Plovdiv: This is a capsule that is ready to be opened in 1000 or 2000 years and to tell about our city and tell about the life of the people in 2019. I hope it gives a historical picture of this time. We have collected photos from Plovdiv in discs that are placed inside - mainly pictures, mainly landscapes and how the city looks like in 2019.

This is not the first capsule left for the future generations of Plovdiv. The first one was buried during the construction of the Central Indoors Market and the second under the monument of Gyuro Mihailov.