The shiny metal "torpedo" seemed out of place in the daylight of the Main Green. So too did the men and women gathered around it wearing ivy wreaths and carrying spice "offerings."

A standard-bearer marched to the beat of a snare drum as four young men carried the artifact on two support beams, as if carrying a ritual sacrifice to an altar.

The torpedo - in reality, a time capsule - was ceremoniously buried Wednesday morning beneath Rhode Island Hall, which is currently undergoing major renovations. The ritual antics, organized by the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, which will occupy the revitalized building, were meant to lighten the mood of what is usually an austere ceremony.

"We've been treating the renovation of Rhode Island Hall very much as an archaeological project," said Susan Alcock, professor of classics and director of the institute. When the project manager of the renovations, which will not be finished for another year, brought up the idea of burying a time capsule, "our eyes lit up immediately," Alcock added.