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A surprising discovery has been made behind an inconspicuous hole in a wall at the Academic Museum of Art in Bonn: a roughly 200-year-old cornerstone dating back to the building's construction. A lead plate concealed inside tells of the historic building's origins.

The cornerstone was uncovered during trench digging to lay pipes for the new access area of the rotunda. The project engineers had noticed an unusual discharging arch above the masonry which provided a clue that something out of the ordinary might be there.

The revealing moment

Upon opening the cornerstone, a lead plate dated to 1822 was found inside. The building was completed between 1824 and 1825. The plate inscription shows that laying of the cornerstone was a significant event attended by prominent politicians and scientists, and gives credit to the builders:

"On August I MDCCCXXII [1822] in the XXV [25th] year of the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm III King of Prussia. In the presence of: Chancellor Carl Fuerst Hardenberg, Minister for cultural affairs Altenstein, Privy Councilor and Curator Rehfues, Rector Gratz, Professor of Anatomy Mayer, Mayor Windeck, this cornerstone of the future Anatomy Building was laid. The builders were: Construction Inspector Waeselmann, Construction Conductor: Stier Ld Leydel, Construction Assistant Brambach, Master Mason: Quantius."

The Office for Archaeological Monument Preservation of the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR) has documented the find and is now scientifically evaluating it in partnership with the LVR State Museum in Bonn.

To ensure that the pipelines could be properly laid, it was agreed with the LVR that the cornerstone would be re-laid at a slightly deeper position once the documentation process has been completed. The find has since been returned to its spot, thus continuing to function as a cornerstone, as originally intended.

"This discovery is like a time capsule in that it affords us a rare look back at the people behind the original construction of this building," said Michael Neu脽, Technical Director of the competent Cologne branch of BLB NRW (the building and real estate management organization of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia). "The find takes us back to the early construction days at the same time as we are renovating the building to keep it up to modern standards for future generations of researchers."

More than 200 years of scientific history

The building that today houses the Academic Museum of Art has a storied history, having initially been the home of the Institute for Anatomy for more than five decades before becoming the facility of the Institute of Classical Archaeology in 1885. The antiquity collection housed there, which has been moved due to the ongoing renovation, today consists of more than 30,000 items and is one of the oldest such collections in Germany.

Rector Professor Michael Hoch commented, "The cornerstone from 1822 is an uncommon archaeological find, as it symbolically points to the long and vibrant history of our institution. One of the very first buildings of our University was erected here over 200 years ago, where generations of researchers would learn and work. The cornerstone reminds us of our illustrious history and the strong foundations upon which our institution was built, which have enabled us to become the world-leading University of Excellence we are today."

"Finding a cornerstone is an extraordinary thing, even for experienced archaeologists," said Joanna Chanko M.A., scientific advisor from the LVR Office for Archaeological Monument Preservation in the Rhineland region. "The huge dimensions of 90 cm long and 60 cm high and the material鈥攃arved siliceous, presumably igneous, rock鈥攃aught everyone's attention immediately.

"When the cornerstone was opened in the restoration workshops of LVR State Museum in Bonn, it was surprising to find the lead panel inside. We were all expecting there to be the typical coins and newspaper clippings from the date of the cornerstone laying. Instead of these, we have the lead tablet with detailed, beautifully inscribed information."

The 200-year history of the Academic Museum of Art is closely bound up with prominent individuals like Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, Otto Jahn and Reinhard Kekul茅 von Stradonitz, who in the 19th century laid the foundations for the scientific importance the museum has today. Scholars like Georg Loeschcke, Franz Winter, Richard Delbrueck, Ernst Langlotz and Nikolaus Himmelmann would later make the building internationally known as a prominent center for archaeology and art history.