Mystery Surrounds Gen. Robert E. Lee Time Capsule In Richmond

RICHMOND, VA — The mystery of a time capsule thought to be buried inside the pedestal under the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond deepened Thursday as workers came up empty trying to find the capsule.

As the search continued for the old time capsule, officials held a ceremony on Thursday to place a new time capsule inside the monument, located in the middle of a traffic circle on Monument Avenue.

The bronze figure of Lee riding his horse came down Wednesday and was hauled away in pieces on a truck. Left behind was the 40-foot pedestal covered with graffiti from last summer’s racial justice protests.

Contractors hired by the state were scheduled to remove the 134-year-old time capsule from the cornerstone on Thursday. But after removing a 2,500-pound capstone and a 500-pound lid, crews were unable to pinpoint the capsule’s precise location.

According to research, the time capsule was stored inside the stone in 1887 that would be used as the cornerstone under the statue. Three years later, in 1890, the Lee statue was unveiled atop the pedestal in downtown Richmond.

Historians and contractors believed the time capsule would be located under the northeast cornerstone of the base of the statue. Radar scans by historians earlier this year found a cavity under the stone on that spot.

Workers found the cavity in the base, but it did not contain the time capsule.

In the meantime, workers dug into the lid of the cornerstone and state officials ceremonially placed inside a new time capsule.

Artifacts for the new time capsule were suggested by members of the public, and narrowed down to 39 final choices by a committee. The artifacts, intended to reflect the cultural moment in the history of Virginia and the nation, included a vaccination card, a photo of a Black ballerina in front of the statue, a Black Lives Matter sticker, a face mask and a poem written in Unified English Braille.

The old time capsule is believed to contain about 60 objects, many of which are believed to be related to the Confederacy. A newspaper article from 1887 that intrigued historians reported that the time capsule also contained a “picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin.” Some historians are doubtful the picture is an actual photograph of Lincoln in his coffin.

Along with having difficulty finding the capsule's precise location, a crane that was being used to lift heavy pieces of a cornerstone broke down late Thursday morning, stalling work indefinitely. Officials did not give an estimate on whether work would resume Thursday.

Once work restarts, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer, said crews would keep looking for the old time capsule in the cornerstone and adjoining stones.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.

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