McClory told the Donegal Daily, “When I saw it, first I thought it was a steel pipe of a ship, then I lifted it and saw there was engraving on it. I thought it was a bomb then. When I saw the date on it I thought it could be somebody’s ashes, so I didn’t open it.”
Photo: Conor McClory
McClory then phoned a friend whom he knew had a Russian-speaking friend to solve the mystery of the container that featured Russian engraving. The acquaintance explained that it was a time capsule, so McCLory opened it.
Photo: Conor McClory
Photo: Conor McClory
The capsule contained letters in Russian and English, poems, photographs, beer mats, a menu, and wine corks. One of the letters from August 2018 said, “Everything around is covered by ice. We think that by the time this letter will be found there is no more ice in Arctic unfortunately.”
Photo: Conor McClory
McClory even tracked down one of the letter’s authors, an Instagram blogger known as Sveta. The crew believed the capsule would be found in 30-50 years, and Sveta was shocked by its early discovery.
It is believed that the capsule floated about 2,300 miles from where it was placed. 