Watch: Time capsules found during restoration of St Paul's Pro-Cathedral
Design director and conservation architect Charlene Jo Darmanin and research director Guillaume Dreyfuss.Videos: Karl Andrew Micallef, AP VallettaBuilders and architects discovered decades-old time capsules hidden behind stone blocks as they restored Malta’s tallest historical building.
One of them is a small cigarette packet that used to belong to one of the construction workers. It was a way for builders to leave a proud legacy for future generations. The 67-metre tower and spire of the St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral that majestically adorns the Valletta skyline has gone through a six-year mammoth restoration that is nearing completion.
Times of Malta climbed to the topmost tip of the tower with two of the architects overseeing the restoration, who disclosed some surprises that the restorers had found along the way.
One of the more pleasant surprises was a time capsule – an old cigarette packet manufactured by one of the major British tobacco companies at the time.
The architects believe the packet was opened by a builder who wrote the initials of his name, his surname and the year that he was working on the tower – 1957 – in pencil on the inside cover.
Video: Karl Andrew...