Workers must break into mysterious pyramid to find world’s largest time capsule

NEBRASKA (WKRC) – A town came together to break into a four-ton pyramid so they could uncover the world’s largest time capsule which has been buried for half a century.

In 1975, Harold Davisson built a 45-ton vault and buried it underground as a time capsule to be opened in 50 years. He included a brand new Chevy Vega, a motorcycle, and a variety of other goodies.

“He wanted his grandchildren to know what HIS life was like in 1975,” his daughter, Trish Johnson, told RoadsideAmerica.com. “He was convinced they wouldn’t remember him.”

After successfully burying the vault, the 1977 Guinness Book of World Records confirmed his world record: the largest time capsule in the world.

This record was immediately met with backlash from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, which believed its “Crypt of Civilization” from 1940 was the largest time capsule. The argument continued for months until Guinness came to the decision to remove its time capsule category entirely.

Davisson didn’t care, though. He still had to prove that his time capsule was the biggest, and what better way to do that than by making it even bigger?

In 1938 Davisson built a four-ton concrete pyramid over the spot where the vault is buried, and put a second time capsule within the structure. Within the second capsule was another car from 1975 “to show what our society does to a car in ten years,” said Trish.

When Davisson died in 1999, he requested that the time capsule not be opened until its 50th anniversary: July 4, 2025. The town of Seward and his daughter are skirting this request just a little bit, but for a good reason.

“We are opening the pyramid this year because we can’t figure out how to get the capsule open with the pyramid on top,” Trish said.

After six hours of cutting through the concrete, the town uncovered a beat-up Toyota Corolla and tons of other items, including a table of handwritten letters.

When the pyramid was first built, residents painted murals on the inner walls. Trish said she fully expected for the murals to be entirely gone, but they were still there when they entered the pyramid.

Trish is excited to unveil the underground vault next year, but knows there’s still a lot to be done.

“All the good stuff is in the capsule down below,” Trish said.

“We’re calling this our dress rehearsal, and we really think we needed one. The mystery continues.”