Author Jules Verne…
Time Capsule Associated With Jules Verne Has Been Discovered in the French Pyrenees
“Le Jules Verne Time Capsule: A multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and historians from the Paris Descartes University have made an extraordinary discovery connected with writer Jules Verne.”
Seems like years ago. Well, yes, it WAS years ago.
I was 8, going on 13, and the Jules Verne boom of the Fifties hit.
Hollywood had rediscovered Verne. Disney started the boom in ’54 with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Kirk Douglas’ Ned Land battled the arch submariner Captain Nemo (portrayed by James Mason). Around The World In Eighty Days was okay, but the whole Verne Boom really picked up with 20th Century-Fox’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth — Mason was back as Professor Von Hardwigg.
I was 13 when I bought the Perma Book “movie edition” of Verne’s JOURNEY and my quest for Everything Jules Verne Ever Wrote began.
Movie related editions were the easiest to find (his books WERE better). FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON [1]. IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS. MASTER OF THE WORLD.
The city library had others. And eventually ACE Books would put out rarer titles.
Although H G Well’s TIME MACHINE (1899) may be the first true Science Fiction novel — I know, depends on outlook and definition — it was Verne who popularized imaginative technology-based adventure. The great French writer redefined the adventure story. The evocation of Verne’s 19th Century time period even inspired the modern SF sub-genre Steampunk.
Jules Verne was a giant and is still revered in his native France.
So this is news…
NEW YORK and PARIS — A multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and historians from the Paris Descartes University and The Explorers Club NYC have made an extraordinary discovery close to the French Pyrenees in the Occitaine region. Work started in September, 2016, and using drones and ground-penetrating radar they have been able to find a metal container dating from the end of the 19th century.
The investigation started thanks to the meticulous study of the works of Jules Verne and, in particular, analysis of the famous author’s tomb. With all of the material collected and using complex geolocation algorithms, the team was able to identify the area in which they might find some kind of object associated with Verne.
The contents of this potential “time capsule” are currently being analysed in an environment which will ensure the preservation and non-contamination of the items found inside. The items themselves have deteriorated with the passage of time and damp from being underground for so long. The archaeologists have also found engravings on the outside of the box which have become barely legible due to oxidation.
Preliminary x-rays have revealed some clues about the items inside the box: they have shown documents, books and metal objects of different sizes and shapes. The conclusions of these studies, therefore, indicate the existence of new works or new evidence from that time period.
For the moment, it has not been possible to prove conclusively that the box and its contents belonged to Jules Verne or someone close to him. However, everything points to the possibility that they may discover unpublished documents belonging to the writer.
According to the local press, the second phase of the operation is already underway, which will involve further study and could lead to the contents of the box being revealed to the public at a press conference over the coming months.
To learn more about the author Jules Verne and his worlds, go to Jules Verne – Wikipedia
For further details please contact:
Elouan Beauséjour
Doctor of Archaeology and Art Sciences
L’Université Paris Descartes
Linkedin: http://lnked.in/elouan-beaus
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[1] Okay, my 1962 copy of Pyramid Books’ JULES VERNE’S FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON was really “A modern version by Gardner F Fox” based on the movie screen play by Irwin Allen, Charles Bennett and Albert Gail. I treasure it because Gardner F Fox wrote WARRIOR OF LLARN, a fave Science Fantasy novel of mine — I keep it on the same shelves as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Andre Norton and Leigh Brackett. And I later came into a truer translation of FIVE WEEKS, which enabled me to rediscover the classic.
SOURCE: L’Universite Paris Descartes & PR Newswire
Title: Jules Verne Time Capsule Discovered in French Pyrenees
Keywords: book review, Jules Verne, Jules Verne 1877, Jules Verne books, Jules Verne movies, Jules Verne time capsule, Jules Verne’s tomb, movie tie-in, science fantasy, time capsule, Steampunk, unpublished documents
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