113-year-old time capsule discovered inside Boston's Old State House statue

Bostonians have long been abuzz about the possibility that a time capsule could be hidden inside one of the city's iconic statues. Now, Boston.com has confirmed that the rumor is, indeed, true.

A 113-year-old time capsule was apparently hidden inside of the lion statue on top of the Old State House, which came down for repairs on Sunday, along with its sister statue, a silver unicorn. The time capsule rumors were first reported by Boston magazine last month, when it was announced that the statues would come down for maintenance.

When the statues arrived at Woburn's Skylight Studios on Monday for restoration, conservator Robert Shure found a copper box stashed inside the lion statue's head. Shure told Boston.com that the capsule was soldered shut, and he is still figuring out the best way to remove and open the box. Bostonians at least have a hint of what's inside, though — a 1901 Boston Globe article says the capsule contains "contributions from state and city officials, the Boston daily newspapers, the name of the maker of the lion and unicorn, and others."

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The capsule's contents will be given to the Bostonian Society, which is currently taking suggestions about what the town should put in a new time capsule. Let's just hope Boston residents have better time capsule ideas than the people of Pawnee.