Of time and earthquakes

AP photo

This week, New Zealand discovered a tough truth about old statues of dead white guys. After last month's earthquake, the statue of the city's founder, John Robert Godley, tumbled, and with it, a copper cylinder containing some secret papers. It was a classic case of the legendary "time capsule hidden in public sculpture" syndrome! We all wait with bated breath for the results.
Next to it was a molding piece of parchment that "smelled like old blue cheese", according to finders...
So here's the pitch. The statue was raised by eager town fathers in 1867. At that time there must have been dedication ceremonies that mentioned the optimistic copper bullet and its contents. Perhaps there was a date after which it was to be retrieved (usually 100 years). But 143 years later, the statue was razed by nature, and nobody knew about or expected the time capsule and its papers. The glory that was Cathedral Square's ornament had gone unappreciated, and, one suspects, invisible in that time, and no one thought to care about what their ancestors considered so important the hid it in plain sight. Even now, the only real interest in it is its heart- the time capsule.
In the eternal optimism of civic leaders, the powers that be plan to rebury the capsule for future generations to find.
Sic transit public memorials...