A family gathering turned into an unexpected glimpse into the past when relatives unearthed a time capsule their great-grandfather buried 50 years earlier.

The wooden box, dating back to 1976, contained an assortment of objects preserved for future generations, which the family examined together while documenting the discovery.

Footage of the experience, shared by user Mikayla Jones, has since garnered virality online, accumulating over 12.3 million views on Instagram and hundreds of thousands more on TikTok in the last few days.

Mikayla Jones is a middle school paraprofessional and social media content creator whose posts primarily focus on her experiences working in education and raising her two children. While much of her content revolves around her everyday life and career, a recent series of videos documenting a family discovery attracted widespread attention across social media.

In the videos, Jones and her relatives gather to unearth a wooden time capsule left behind by her great-grandfather in 1976, marking approximately half a century since it was buried.

After retrieving the box, the family opens it and begins examining the various objects stored inside, revealing a collection of items from decades earlier.

The discovery offered viewers a look at a piece of the family's history, with the unusual assortment of contents helping the videos attract millions of views online.

@mikaylareanne93 POV: Your family opens a 50-year time capsule, not because it was time for us to open it, but because it was my grandfather’s specific request that we open it after 50 years. ❤️ We know some of these things might look like junk to other people, but to us, they’re pieces of our family’s history, memories of loved ones, and little glimpses into a time we can never get back. Not every family gets the chance to hold a piece of their past in their hands, and we don’t take that for granted. 🥹 What may look like junk to some is priceless to us. 50 years of memories, love, and family history, all in one place. 🤍#timecapsule #familymemories #nostalgia #generational #corememory ♬ sonido original – G&M Music

"POV: Opening our family’s time capsule after 50 years, just as Grandpa requested," Jones writes both on the video and in its caption. "Some may see junk, but we see priceless memories not every family gets the chance to experience."

The video itself starts with an excavator, which has just dropped a big box covered in dirt on the ground, as "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N Roses starts playing.

The dirt it has excavated is in the foreground, and many people are gathered behind the box, witnessing the moment.

The excavator pushes the box onto its side, and then people begin to try and open it. A man manages to pry it open with the help of a hammer and a lever, and Jones films the box as it's just been opened.

Then, she films the extracted objects laid out on many tables, as people with gloves organize them. The objects seem to have taken a lot of damage, stained from the dirt and humidity.

There are license plates, magazines, Pabst Blue Ribbon cans, newspapers, photographs and many other objects. Jones shows a photo of a bottle of wine they recovered from the box, as well as an old Ford emblem, Coke bottles, an ad for a cleaning service, Pall Mall cigarettes and money, among other things.

In the comments, many users pointed out the poor condition of the objects, saying that it seemed like they were not sealed properly and giving tips on what should be done to protect objects in a time capsule that will be buried in the ground.

Others, however, expressed that this was not the point of a time capsule or Jones’s video, and many expressed how amazing it was that Jones’s family had the opportunity to open a time capsule and look at objects from their grandfather’s youth.

Jones has also posted other videos, both to Instagram and TikTok, about the experience, and some of them have gone viral as well.

@mikaylareanne93 Still can’t believe we got to open our family’s 50-year-old time capsule 🥹❤️ What a special thing to have and share with our family. Feeling so blessed to have this little piece of our family’s history. A memory we’ll cherish forever! 🤍🕰️ #timecapsule #familymemories #familyhistory #corememories #familylegacy ♬ Baby Yelow – Gilang Antono

@mikaylareanne93 Part 2 on the digging up of my family’s time capsule from 50 years ago! #timecapsule #fyp #50years #viraltiktok #nostalgia ♬ Home – Edith Whiskers

@mikaylareanne93 Even though some of the things were completely ruined, it’s still a blessing to have witnessed a time capsule! #corememories #timecapsule #family #viraltiktok ♬ Days Like This – Late Night Thoughts