American conservation experts pulled buttons, documents, and coins from a time capsule that was found in the remains of a pedestal that once housed a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee, USA.
Kate Ridgway (lead conservator at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources) stated that the material and measurements of the box were consistent with historical accounts.
The contents of Tuesday’s capsule were still unpacked on Tuesday and appeared to match the description that experts had sought for the 1887 time capsule.
According to records kept by the Library of Virginia, about 60 objects were contributed to the capsule by dozens of Richmond residents and organizations, including Confederate memorabilia.
Ridgway stated to reporters, “It does seem that this box is what we expected.”
General Lee was a pro-slavery South leader during the US Civil War. His monuments have been a focal point in recent fights for racial justice.
Virginia’s governor had the massive equestrian statue Lee taken down in 2020, amid protests worldwide over George Floyd’s police shooting. After a court granted permission, litigation halted his plans and the statue wasn’t taken down until September.
On Monday, the box was found and carefully removed from the monument site. This marked the end to a long-running search for the mysterious capsule.
They found it! “This is probably the time capsule that everyone was looking for,” Governor Ralph Northam tweeted following the removal of the box from the rubble.
Ridgway stated that the 16.6kg (36 lbs) box was found in water in an alcove on the pedestal. Ridgway stated that the contents were damp but not soup and added: “I think it is in better shape than what we expected.”
In the late 1800s, news reports described the discovery of the time capsule under the pedestal’s foundation. Imaging tests earlier in the year confirmed its existence. However, a long search for the time capsule during September’s statue removal was futile.
Northam had earlier this month ordered that the pedestal be removed. Crews on the project began to search again for the artifact.
Two weeks ago, a time capsule was found. This generated excitement. However, hours of tedious and ultimately anti-climactic inspection revealed that the artifact was likely placed by another person, possibly someone who was involved in the construction.
Some historians speculate that the capsule may contain a historic and rare photograph of Abraham Lincoln. A newspaper article included a line listing that the capsule contained a photograph of Lincoln in his coffin.
Conservators found Tuesday a printed image taken from Harper’s Weekly 1865 in the time capsule. Ridgway stated that it seemed to show Lincoln’s grave and was not the anticipated photo.
Harold Holzer, a Lincoln scholar and historian, said previously to The Associated Press that he thought it unlikely that the capsule contained an actual photo of Lincoln because the only known photograph of Lincoln as a dead was taken by Jeremiah Gurney at City Hall in New York, April 24, 1865.
The contents of the tightly sealed box had expanded due to dampness and remained together making it difficult to unpack. Conservators decided to relieve the pressure by removing one side.
Ridgway stated, “Not ideal, but it’s how it is.”
The box contained several books and documents that had become waterlogged. It also contained Confederate money. Conservators carefully separated it. There were two carved artifacts, a Masonic symbol, and a Confederate Flag. These items are said to have been made out of the tree that grew above General Stonewall Jackson.
