A "time capsule" buried under O'Connell Street in Dublin for almost 200 years has been uncovered under the site formerly occupied by Nelson's Pillar.
The find, which has been described by the director of the National Museum, Dr Pat Wallace, as significant and unexpected, was made by archaeologists working alongside a team excavating the site in preparation for the erection of the Millennium Spire, or Monument of Light.
The stone-and-metal box was found late on Tuesday and was excavated yesterday under the supervision of staff from the National Museum of Ireland.
Its contents are still a mystery but it may be opened this morning. It is believed to contain artefacts from the era. Britain was at war with Napoleon at the time; Nelson died victorious at Trafalgar in 1805 and work on the Pillar began in 1808.
The box was taken by trailer to the Collins Barracks branch of the museum, where it will be x-rayed before being opened.
Dr Wallace said the opening "has to be done under the strictest laboratory conditions. The head of our laboratory will be doing it. It will have to be done in proper temperature in case anything in it disintegrates".
The capsule is around 2.5 feet long and 1 foot 6 inches wide, according to a Dublin Corporation spokesman. He said he understood the walls of the box were four to six inches wide and the box itself around 14 inches deep.
"There is a limestone lid on it about three inches thick. Underneath that limestone lid there is what looks like a metal layer, greenish in colour and it appears to be sealed to the edge of the granite box. Underneath that we believe there is a casket.
"As far as the Corporation is concerned it's a city of Dublin treasure. We don't know what if anything there is inside it yet.
"Obviously this is a very exciting find and we are looking forward to seeing what's in it. We hope that if there is something interesting and fascinating in it that the people of Dublin city will get to see it".
Dr Wallace said a series of accidents had brought the capsule to light.
"The people who deposited it thought it would be there for 1,000 years or more because Nelson's pillar was built to last that long, so there have been two accidents involved in its discovery - the first being the blowing up of the monument in March 1966 and the second being the excavations for the replacement monument," he said.