Again, crews find apparent time capsule at Lee statue site

RICHMOND, Va. – Crews wrapping up the removal Monday of a elephantine pedestal that erstwhile held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee successful Richmond recovered what appeared to beryllium a 2nd and long-sought-after clip capsule, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said.

The politician tweeted photos of a container being removed from the tract and said conservators were studying the artifact.

“They recovered it! This is apt the clip capsule everyone was looking for," helium tweeted.

The politician said the container would not beryllium opened Monday. It wasn't instantly wide what benignant of information immoderate contents mightiness beryllium in.

The improvement marked the latest crook successful a months-long hunt for the capsule, which contemporaneous quality accounts indicate was placed during a cornerstone-laying ceremonial successful 1887 attended by thousands of people. News accounts described its dozens of donated artifacts, including Confederate memorabilia. Based connected humanities records, immoderate person besides speculated the capsule mightiness incorporate a uncommon photograph of deceased President Abraham Lincoln.

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Earlier this month, crews dismantling the pedestal found a clip capsule embedded successful a granite artifact that immoderate initially thought mightiness person been the 1 placed successful 1887. But aft authorities conservators spent hours past week gingerly prying the container open, they didn’t find the expected trove of objects related to the Confederacy. Instead, conservators pulled retired a fewer waterlogged books, a metallic coin and an envelope with immoderate papers.

The prevailing mentation past week was that the pb container was near by a idiosyncratic — oregon persons — who oversaw the monument’s construction.

The hunt for the 1887 clip capsule resumed Monday.

Devon Henry, the contractor whose institution was overseeing the removal, said the container was recovered wrong a granite enclosure fundamentally astatine crushed level, surrounded by capable and different operation material. Workers pulled disconnected the apical of the granite enclosure to find the box, which appeared to beryllium made of copper, sitting successful water, Henry said.

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The container was past covered successful bubble wrapper and transported by conveyance from the tract for further study, helium said.

The Lee statue, which depicted the wide atop a horse, was erected connected the soaring pedestal successful 1890 successful the erstwhile superior of the Confederacy. Its removal successful September came much than a twelvemonth aft Northam ordered it successful the aftermath of protests that erupted aft the constabulary sidesplitting of George Floyd successful Minneapolis.

The statue was 1 of 5 tremendous Confederate tributes on Monument Avenue, and the lone 1 that belonged to the state. The 4 city-owned statues were taken down successful 2020, but the Lee statue’s removal was blocked by 2 lawsuits until a ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia successful September cleared the way for it to beryllium dismantled.

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Crews searched for the clip capsule then, digging and removing immoderate monolithic stones, but were incapable to find it.

Henry said it was recovered Monday successful the northeast country of the pedestal, astir 4 feet (1.2 meters) beneath the country initially searched.

Northam's medication initially planned to permission the pedestal successful spot but announced successful aboriginal December that contractors would region the behemoth, present covered successful graffiti, and transportation the grassy postulation ellipse it inhabited to the metropolis of Richmond. The medication has said it volition beryllium stored until “next steps” person been determined.

Finalizing the removal enactment astatine the tract volition apt instrumentality different week, Henry said.

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