Dr. Kaye is my chiropractor. https://www.chirocentral.net/ He’s good at what he does, friendly and rather talkative, in a good way. When he realized I’m an archaeologist, he started asking my “professional opinion” on a few issues. First, he asked about a large vertebra he collected near Monterey, California. I showed photos to the paleontologist I work with.
The paleontologist told me it looks like a dolphin or porpoise vertebrate. He said the neural arch is interesting as it looks like the spine has broken.
Background
During the school year 1974-75, Mr. Kenneth Holt, the founder and principal of Fairmont Private School, in Anaheim, California, conceived the idea of burying a “time capsule”. Greg was a in the sixth grade. His class contributed items to for inclusion as part of the “time capsule” project. He also attended the ceremony when the time capsule box was buried. Although it was many years ago, Dr. Kaye has a personal recollection of the physical appearance of the box and the approximate location of where it was buried under the front lawn of the campus, 50 years ago. The recovery of the time capsule has become Dr. Kay’s personal quest.
As the decades passed since that time, Mr. Holt has passed away. The property of Fairmont Private School is now owned by a family relation, Mr. David Jackson. Fairmont Private School has been able to grow and expand into a Prep Academy with multiple locations as it enjoys a reputation for academic excellence in Orange County, California. https://www.fairmontschools.com/
Consulting Archaeologist
The second thing Dr. Kaye wanted to discuss after learning I’m an archaeologist, was the time capsule. I was intrigued by the idea, and I told the Doc I would help him as much as I can. He wrote up a proposal, from which I am using language to explain the quest.
My first thought was ground penetrating radar (GPR) but that can be expensive, and one needs to know how to interpret the images displayed on the machine. So there’s a learning curve there.
I asked my cadre of fellow archaeologists on my Facebook page – ideas included a metal detector, shovel, and surveyor’s magnetometer, although the ideas were not all provided by archaeologists.
It turns out the time capsule is made of plexiglass. No metal detection would help here. Dr. Kaye knows approximately where the box was buried, so his initial thought was to mark out a grid and use a metal pole to probe the ground in a methodological way to discover the subsurface object.
At some point, Dr. Kaye started referring to me as his Consulting Archaeologist. The following text is from Dr. Kaye; turns out he hasn’t needed my assistance at all!
Dr. Kaye’s Objectives:
Objective 1. Conduct a minimally invasive search to confirm the location the time capsule box.
Objective 2. Perform an efficient minimally invasive necessary excavation to carefully remove a small section of the surface lawn (sod) and then dig through the soil to expose the “time capsule” box and bring it up out of the ground. When this is completed, the area of the excavation should be back filled with dirt and re-covered with the original sod, to leave as small of a “footprint” or trace of the work that was performed.
Objective 3. Document and catalog the contents of the “time capsule” box and present the catalog and original contents to Mr. David Jackson and/or Fairmont Private School.
Search Parameters
From Dr. K himself: It is my hope that my memory of the location would help to reduce the size of the search area to a zone of approximately 10 square feet or less.
This project proposal has three phases for it to meet the project objectives:
The target we are we looking for is a rectangular clear plexi-glass box. It is possible that this may only be an outer covering for another container within.
The estimated dimensions:
Length: 18″ to 24″
Width: 12″
Depth: 12″
Estimated weight 10-15 lbs. The depth of the hole at the time it was buried estimated to be approximately 36 inches (3 feet).
Dr. Kaye’s Proposal
Phase 1:
Locating the “time capsule” box under the front lawn
The use of thin metal stakes to mark the initial search area in a grid pattern. Then to use a thin metal rod to probe. This is a 48″ T-handled specialty tool used by plumbers and electricians to determine the location of buried pipes or other. This would be used to penetrate down through the grass of the lawn and into the soil below. The probes size is thin enough so as to avoid any permanent effects to the lawn and sensitive enough reduce the risk of damage to the box if it is located.
Phase II
Extraction of the box
This will require the careful removal of a section of the top layer of the lawn(sod) which will be set aside while the digging is performed. It will be replaced at the end of this phase to cover the digging site. Once the box is located, it will be important to consider the relative condition of the structure of he box.
If the box is in good condition and intact, then removal will be a simple matter of freeing it from the soil, and fashioning a gentle way to pull it up.
If the box is in poor condition, then more care will be required to excavate under the box to be able to use a tarp under it so as to limit further damage and be able to gently extract the box and related items from the hole.
Phase III
Post recovery
This will involve photographing and listing all items that are found in the “time capsule” box. A complete manifest of the contents would be presented to Mr. David Jackson and/or Fairmont Private School at the conclusion of the project.
It is my hope that the acquisition of the box and its contents may be of some interest to the school with regards to its history and the legacy of its founder Mr. Kenneth Holt.
Desired Conclusion
The acquisition and cataloging of the “time capsule” may provide Fairmont Private School potentially interesting historical information about its past.
It would be an interesting addition to the legacy of its founder Mr. Kenneth Holt by bringing to conclusion the somewhat whimsical and historical project he began almost a half century ago.
Hiccups
Dr. Kaye flew to California in late 2022 to meet with the new owner of the property, Mr. Jackson, and discuss the project. Mr. Jackson seemed enthusiastic about the project, suggesting the contents of the capsule could be made into a display of the history of the school. But Mr. Jackson’s enthusiasm does not match Dr. Kaye’s, which has been disappointing. Dr. Jackson did not allow Dr. Kaye to attempt any efforts to retrieve the capsule during his visit and has not been communicative with Dr. Kaye. However, Dr. Kaye is not daunted, and has not given up his quest. It’s only been delayed.
