Virginia Conservators Open 130-Year-Old Time Capsule Found In Base Of Statue. Check Out What They Found
The conservators unearthed miscellaneous items and Confederate memorabilia in the time capsule which dates back to 1887.
New Delhi: Virginia conservators Tuesday cut open the 36-pound copper box, a 'time capsule', unearthed beneath the pedestal of a statue of former Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. This is the second box discovered from the site of the statue that was erected in 1890, and is more than 130 years old, the US media reported.
WATCH LIVE: 1887 Time Capsule Opening in Richmond https://t.co/FzxCudvZZ2
— Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) December 28, 2021
In the video, Katherine Ridgeway and Sue Donovan, state conservators with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, were seen opening the time capsule, and carefully pulling out the items preserved in the box.
Quoting Ridgeway, an ABC report said the time capsule was in a better shape than what was expected, and that the items were wet but the copper may have helped prevent further damage.
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Treasure Trove Of Artefacts Uncovered
The conservators unearthed miscellaneous items and Confederate memorabilia in the time capsule that dates back to 1887. The items included silver coins, that had lost their lusture; a Holy Bible; a compass; bullets; paper money; 12 copper coins; an edition of Harper's Weekly from 1865; military memorabilia, Confederate money; several book including directories; a carved wood flag; and a Masonic symbol, according to media reports.
Some believe that the Masonic symbol was allegedly carved from a tree that grew above General Stonewall Jackson's original grave, the ABC report said.
The box was X-rayed by a local bomb squad before it was opened. An artefact, which Ridgeway believes is a fragment of a shell from the battle of Fredericksburg, was found in from the box, the ABC report said.
Three books were found in the copper box. According to historical records for the capsule's inventory, several items were consistent with donations from past residents of Richmond, a New York Times article said.
No Rare Lincoln Photogarh Found In Box
Historians had hoped they would find a rare, century-old picture of former US President Abraham Lincoln in the copper box, but no such picture was found. The copper box revealed a very damp issue of Harper's Weekly, dated April 29, 1865. The issue has a printed picture of an individual who appeared to be next to Lincoln's body, the NYT article said.
Quoting Donovan, the article said that the picture was not an original.
According to the article, Julie Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, said she "never necessarily expected" the time capsule from 1887 to contain the orginal photograph of Lincoln.
The Lincoln photo found in the capsule appeared to be printed and already mended multiple times, making it far less valuable than what had been expected.
Donovan said that the picture was a mass engraving that appeared in Harper's Weekly, according to the ABC report.
All artefacts will be processed and stabilised by experts for safekeeping, according to reports. A process involving packets of silica gel will be used to stabilise and dehydrate the treasure trove of memorabilia. Then, they will be analysed by historians to determine their significance.
Ridgeway said that the artefacts were "more waterlogged than we had hoped but not as bad as they could have been", according to the NYT report, which quoted a state official as saying at a news conference Tuesday that the final ownership of the capsules was yet to be determined. The official noted that the ownership would likely be the state of Virginia.
In September, the Lee monument was removed on the orders of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Earlier this month, another box was discovered at the site, which revealed artefacts like a damp book of fiction, and a photograph of a stonesmason who worked on the 1,500-pound granite pedestal in which the capsule was stored.
Quoting local historian and author Dale Brumfield, the ABC report said that certain important parts of life in Virginia were not present in the time capsule.
Though the artefacts do not present a complete picture of life in Richmond at that time, they show the prominence of the Confederacy in Southern Culture, even two decades after the Civil War ended, Brumfield said.
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