In the next week or so we will be cementing our time capsule into the foundations of the new cellar to confuse, perplex and ultimately disappoint some far-off generation of alien archaeologists. What will they make of our peculiar offerings?
- A bottle of Il Palazzone Brunello 2000; the first vintage picked and produce
- The head builder’s ruler and marker pen, bearing his name, Salvatore
- A message from the Sig. Pacella, our general contractor
- The estate postcard of a clapped out old Fiat on the property
- Consorzio del Brunello information booklet
- Magnifying lens for looking at grapes from Massimo Achilli, our agronomer (the first he ever owned)
- A sketch of the cellar by Marco Pignatti, the architect
- A spanner from Andrea Meacci, FOP and mechanic
- A used cartridge from Marco Sassetti
- An impenetrable code created by a New York FOP
- The table for sugar/alcohol levels in fermenting grapes from Paolo Vagaggini, our enologist
- An instant coffee capsule (?)
- A Milan/Buonconvento train ticket
- Our 2011 harvest team signatures
- A pouch containing secrets
- A special paperclip from Mandy Presser
- A union jack from Laura Gray
- Assorted coins from Italy, Britain, USA, Tunisia and Marocco
- A cigarette lighter (that should keep them guessing)
- A trusty Bic pen
- A beer opener from the Seversons
- A cardboard bone from Gianni Petricci, known as Osso
- A plastic frog from Jacopo Ferretti, cellar-man
- This year’s on-site price list
- Isla and James’ harvest label
- One of our corks
- A piece of hose from the plumber
- The time capsule tin itself, hand-made by Paolo Pieri
English
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the fun narrative. At the Graduate School of History at the University of New Hampshire I taught a class in Material Culture Studies. I'd start by dividing the students into small teams and giving each an assortment of items as nutty as this. There assignment was to imagine they had come across these items all cached together, and invent a story and scenario that somehow brought them all together. It opened their minds to thinking about objects as representing human wants, needs, interests and activities. The litteralists would report that they came from my desk; others came up with inventive and witty scenarios, and I could tell incidentally how they would perform through the semester. This is, in fact, a standard opening lesson for archaeologists. But never could I have pulled together such an improbable assembly as you have. It will indeed fascinate and puzzle whoever finds it. What fun! And congratulations on the new cellar!
Ciao Mark! Thanks so much for sharing these details – so interesting. It has seemed a bit strange to imagine our beautiful new cellar razed to the ground before we have even had the opening party but I have enjoyed imagining how flummoxed those alien archaeologists will be by our collection…