A crew in the city of Richmond, the capital of the state of Virginia in the United States, has found what is believed to be a time capsule from 1887.
In September, the huge bronze statue of Southern General Robert E. Lee was removed, following last year’s Black Lives Matter demonstration.
The bronze statue of the riding officer is placed on a huge marble plinth. Together, the statue and the shelf form an 18-meter-high monument.
According to NBC News workers were to remove the shelf when they found the probable capsule.
GRAFFITI: The statue has recently been covered in graffiti and exposed to vandalism. Photo: Ken Cedeno / Shutterstock / NTB
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One ton heavy granite block
It was already known that a capsule might have been buried in the shelf, but the exact location was uncertain.
Just the day after the statue was removed, the workers worked for over twelve hours searching for the capsule in the over nine meter high plinth. However, they did not succeed.
On Friday, however, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) announced that the crew had found the top of a square box in a granite block of almost a ton.
NBC News writes that it was found approximately in the middle of the shelf.
Previously, workers thought it was hidden in or under one of the cornerstones of the shelf.
Striking findings: – Fantastic
The commander of the crews, Clark Mercer, then said that it could look like it is the time capsule they have found.
“We hope it has not been destroyed by water over the last hundred years,” Mercer told NBC.
Rare and valuable
Late Friday afternoon, workers hoisted down the large piece of granite with the presumed time capsule inside. The plan is to transport it to the “Department of Historic Resources”, where it will open during the week.
Mercer states that the box is still encapsulated in granite, and that it must be loosened and X-rayed before you can be sure that it is actually the capsule.
DESTROYED: The crew fears the capsule may have been damaged by water over time. Photo: REUTERS / Jay Paul
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A news article from 1887 suggests that the capsule contains memories of the Civil War and a picture of former President Abraham Lincoln lying in the coffin after his death.
Historians, however, believe it is doubtful that the image is an actual photograph. In that case, it would be very rare and valuable.
Documents from the Library of Virginia estimate that 37 Richmond residents, organizations and businesses have contributed approximately 60 objects to the capsule.
Many believe that most of the objects can be linked to the Confederacy, ie the Southern States during the Civil War 1861-65.
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Protest art
The Lee statue was the last of five Confederate statues in the city still to be seen. The other four have been taken down as a result of demonstrations across the country against statues representing racism and white rule.
However, it has been vandalized and covered in graffiti recently.
Some activists thought it should be left standing, with graffiti, as a protest work of art.
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