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A secret chamber has been discovered in the Smithsonian

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

A secret chamber 30 feet deep was recently uncovered under the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Not exactly Harry Potter's Chamber of Secrets, but still cause for a lot of speculation about the question, what was it for?

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

A construction crew discovered the cistern while renovating a part of the Smithsonian known as the Castle. They only found this hole because of a long-term effort to revitalize this part of the historic building, the first in half a century.

SHAPIRO: Built in 1847, the structure's main function was gathering rainwater.

KELLY: But 120 years ago, it was sealed off entirely until this construction crew discovered it last month.

SHAPIRO: While there are some false rumors and Hollywood blockbusters alleging that a labyrinth of archives or secret tunnels lie underground, there's nothing out of the ordinary about this cistern, except maybe that it still exists at all.

KELLY: Yes. We must disclose zero secret symbols, zero ancient archives were found in the rainwater receptacle after it was uncovered.

SHAPIRO: Sorry to burst your bubble, "National Treasure" fans. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Jordan-Marie Smith
Jordan-Marie Smith is a producer with NPR's All Things Considered.
Katia Riddle
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
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