This is a list of time capsules. The register of The International Time Capsule Society estimates there are between 10,000 and 15,000 time capsules worldwide. An estimated 95% of time capsules are lost track of by the fifth anniversary of their burial.
An active list of time capsules is maintained by the NotForgotten Digital Preservation Library.
Asia India Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had buried a time capsule outside one of the gate of Red Fort complex, The Indira Gandhi government named this time capsule "Kalpaatra", Delhi containing post-independence history of India on 15 August 1972 amid political opposition. It was scheduled to be opened after 1000 years. The next Janata government unearthed it in 1977 but its contents were never made public and were lost. A time capsule was buried in the presence of the President of India near the auditorium of IIT Kanpur on 6 March 2010. Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar containing the history of Indian state of Gujarat marking the 50 years of its foundation. Installed in 2010. Alexandra Girls' English Institution, a school in Fort, South Mumbai buried a time capsule in 2014, scheduling it to be opened on 1 September 2062, on the bi-centennial anniversary of the school. Under the flag holding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a time-capsule was buried in the premises of Lovely Professional University, a University located in Jalandhar, Punjab on the second day of Indian National Congress dated 4 January 2019. The occasion was attended by Nobel laureates, including biochemist Avram Hershko and physicist Duncan Haldane. They lowered a 8x8 time capsule-box made of aluminium and wood with a glass door. 10 feet into the ground. A smart phone, landline telephone, VCR, stereo player, stop watch, computer parts like hard disk, mouse, laptop, central processing unit, a motherboard, hard disk with the latest documentaries and movies, a camera, science-text books and scientific equipment like rheostat, refrectorscope and double microscope are some of the things that will remain buried for 100 years. The area where the capsule has been buried would be cemented and earmarked. On 26 January 2021, a 1.5 tonne time capsule encapsulating the history of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) history spanning over a century was buried 30 feet deep in the park opposite Victoria Gate during Republic Day celebrations to mark the university's eventful centenary year on Tuesday.
Indonesia
On 1 June 1976, as the construction of Hayam Wuruk Building (Wisma Hayam Wuruk) in Central Jakarta, Jakarta finished, a time capsule was buried in the building's structure. The capsule contains polaroid pictures of the capsule burying ceremony, some coins, and daily newspapers in Jakarta published on that date. The opening date, however, remains unknown. At the start of the construction of the Matahari Tower in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang Regency, Banten in 1994, a time capsule was embedded. It is not known where it was located, what was in it and when it will be opened. To commemorate 70th anniversary of Indonesian independence, a time capsule was buried in a square of Merauke town, Merauke Regency, South Papua in 2015, near Mopah International Airport. Inside the capsule are "the dreams and hopes" of Indonesian children for the next 70 years, planned to be opened in 2085. Merauke Time Capsule Monument is built upon the buried capsule, it was inaugurated on 16 November 2018.
Japan The Expo '70 time capsule is located near Osaka Castle, donated by Panasonic and the Mainichi Newspapers. It was opened for the first time in 2000, and then the second time expected to be opened in 2100. The time capsule remains sealed until 6970.
Kazakhstan In Aktau, people of 1967 sent a message showing the chronology of the development of Mangyshlak Peninsula with the names of the people who helped to build the town in the desert. The letter was put in a metallic cylinder in a triangular marble urn. It opened in November 2017.
South Korea During the inaugural Youth Day event in 2020, K-pop group BTS handed a time capsule to president Moon Jae-in to be opened in the year 2039, during the 20th Youth Day event. It is currently stored in the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. The purple time capsule contains some of the best memories BTS had during their entire career. The in Namsangol Hanok Village was buried in 1994 to celebrate Seoul's 600th anniversary as the capital of Korea. It contains 600 items chosen to represent the city. The time capsule is set to be opened on 29 November 2394, on the city's 1000th anniversary.
Malaysia Rotary Club Time Capsule Monument (GPS: 3.15912, 101.69825) is a commemorative monument along Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur. It was originally located at Dataran Merdeka, but was relocated to Jalan Sultan Ismail around 2016. It comprises a stainless steel column topped with a Rotary International logo. At the base is a black marble-encased pedestal under which a time capsule is buried. The monument was erected to celebrate the presence of Rotary in Malaysia since 1929. It was officiated by the mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Dato' Kamaruzzaman bin Shariff, on 26 June 2000.
Philippines The El Hogar Building in Escolta, Manila contained a time capsule behind a copper plaque and is believed to contain mostly Spanish-language works. It was reportedly removed from the building in 2018. Three time capsules were sealed near the town hall of Naguilian, La Union containing memorabilia related to the town's history and culture. These are to be opened after 25, 50, and 100 years.
Russia
On 7 May 2005, a time capsule was placed at the Kumzhensky memorial in Russia with an instruction to open on 9 May 2045. In 2012, a time capsule dating from 15 July 1979 was found in Vulkanny (Yelizovsky District, Kamchatka peninsula) under a statue of Lenin. It contained messages to the "Soviet Russian master society in 2024".
Singapore The oldest known time capsule in Singapore was rediscovered in early 2016, beneath the foundation stone of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The shoebox-sized time capsule from 18 June 1843 was found to include a prayer booklet and newspapers, and international coins. The capsule is thought to have been buried by French Catholic missionary priests and other founding communities of Singapore. On April 1, 1937, a capsule containing coins and newspapers from the time was buried under the foundation stone of the former Supreme Court building with the intention that it be opened in the year 3000. The building now houses the National Gallery Singapore, where the foundation stone can still be seen today. In 1949, a capsule was buried at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) containing school magazines, a bible and records of major donors. Thought to be lost, the capsule was rediscovered in 2000 with the help of a former student who had attended the burial ceremony. A capsule buried in 1950 under the then Royal Island Club (now the Singapore Island Country Club) was thought to be lost but later found by construction workers in 2010. It contained photographs and newspapers. In 1970, one of Singapore's founding leaders, Dr Goh Keng Swee laid a copper cylinder containing newspapers and Singapore bank notes from the era, somewhere in the former National Stadium. Unfortunately the location has been lost and metal detectors have failed to find it despite a $50,000 reward on offer. Since 1973, Science Centre Singapore has been depositing gadgets and examples of significant technologies in a time capsule inaugurated by then Science and Technology Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye. The first 112 items deposited included a black and white television receiver, a camera and samples of pig feed. After additional deposits were made in 1983, 2001 and 2013, the original capsule was replaced with a larger stainless steel container that now holds over 800 items in an atmosphere of inert nitrogen gas in the hope that this will better preserve the artefacts inside. The Jurong Town Corporation buried a time capsule under Jurong Town Hall in 1974. When opened in 2001, the capsule was found to contain reports, articles and photographs illustrating the industrialisation of Jurong. In 1975, part of Singapore's contribution to an International Ocean Exposition held in Okinawa, Japan entitled The Sea We Would Like to See was a research project using floating time capsules. The previous year, 50 small round capsules were released from Raffles Lighthouse as part of a global fleet of 2,800 to measure oceanic tides and currents. Each capsule contained information about the Exposition, a goodwill message from a Japanese child and a voucher for a Citizen Blackie watch to incentivise finders to fill in a post card with details of where the capsule were found. 24 of the capsules released in Singapore were later recovered. 1990 saw the unexpected unearthing of a time capsule from the 1950s by contractors working at the demolished American Insurance building in Robinson Road. Buried on 26 April 1956, the copper canister contained English and Chinese newspapers, a financial report, photographs, posters and an insurance agent's manual. In 2015, a time capsule buried to celebrate Singapore's 25th year of independence was dug up and replaced with one celebrating 50 years as a sovereign nation. The original canister held 88 "symbols of progress" including a video tape of the 1966 National Day (Singapore), water from the Singapore River and the first sarong kebaya uniforms designed by Pierre Balmain for Singapore Airlines in 1968. The replacement capsule, made from stainless steel, was buried by then Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong outside Empress Place. On 31 August 2005, Singapore Polytechnic buried a time capsule in order to conclude year-long celebrations of its 50th anniversary of its founding in 1954. Located near its main library, it is scheduled to be re-opened in 2029 for its 75th anniversary. Items in the time capsule included staff and student admission cards, a CD of 2004's graduation ceremony and a bottle of locally brewed red wine.
Caribbean InstallYear OpenYear Location Notes Cite2012Bacardi headquarters, BermudaIn celebration of its 150th corporate anniversary, Bacardi Limited installed a 1.82m × 0.30m stainless steel time capsule, encased in a granite cap and cement pedestal, in front of the Bacardi worldwide headquarters in Bermuda. The capsule was placed in December 2012 and is intended to be opened in 2062, at the company's 200th anniversary.
Europe
InstallYear OpenYear LocationNotesCite1891 2018Palace hotel, Zagreb, CroatiaMessage which wishes luck and prosperity to the family of the owner Dragutin Schlesinger.Achievements during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph and Ban Khuen-Héderváry, price lists of that time, etc.Also the Obzor and Agramer Zeitung newspapers and several coins.1894 2015Kingussie, Scotland29 September 1894 newspaper; bottle believed to contain whisky.1898 2013Bell tower of the Zagreb Cathedral, Zagreb, CroatiaMessage from architect Herman Bollé who ran the 19th century reconstruction of the Zagreb Cathedral.In it he wished: "When it is opened, let the Croats be a unified nation."2012Hallstatt, AustriaMemory of Mankind201518 Nov 2115Cognac, France, Louis XIII CellarsContents: A film and a bottle of Louis XIII20172317Durham County Record Office, Co Durham, EnglandContents: An eclectic collection of texts, images and small artefacts. Installed in the archive facility within the Durham County Record Office.Durham Magazine, 17 April 201720242024Flums, SwitzerlandThe Global Knowledge Vault Contents: English Wikipedia and Rosetta language archives.
France Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Strasbourg Cathedral. Le Lieu unique.
Iceland