Crews Find Second Box Inside Pedestal To Robert E. Lee Statue In Richmond

RICHMOND, VA — Officials now believe they found the official 1887 time capsule that was placed inside the pedestal where the Robert E. Lee statue stood in the middle of Monument Avenue.

As crews were completing the removal of the final pieces of the statue’s pedestal on Monday, they found a capsule in the corner of the pedestal site.

“They found it! This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for. Conservators studying it — stay tuned for next steps!” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wrote in a tweet Monday afternoon.

The capsule will be opened Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Department of Historic Resources lab in Richmond.

Last Wednesday, a historic preservation team at the Department of Historic Resources lab in Richmond opened what officials thought was the official 1887 time capsule. But after hours of carefully opening the smaller-than-expected lead box, the team found only a handful of items.

Northam's chief of staff, Clark Mercer, said the box opened last week might be a second box and not the 1887 time capsule described by historians.

Historians had expected the box would be 14 inches by 14 inches by 8 inches. The box opened last week turned out to be 8 inches wide, 11.5 inches long and 4 inches deep.

Based on records, historians had believed about 60 objects would be in the capsule, many of them related to the Confederacy. But only three books, an envelope and a coin were found in the box.

A newspaper article from 1887 had suggested the capsule contained Civil War memorabilia and a "picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin."

The new box "appears to be the time capsule that historians believe was placed on October 27, 1887," Northam said in a statement Monday afternoon. "It is made of copper and matches the size listed in the historical record."

Devon Henry, the contractor whose company was overseeing the removal, told The Associated Press that the box was found inside a granite enclosure at ground level. Workers pulled off the top of the granite enclosure to find the box, which appeared to be made of copper. According to records, the box was supposedly made of copper.

The box was then covered in bubble wrap and taken by vehicle from the site for further study, Henry told the AP. The box was found in the northeast corner of the pedestal, about 4 feet below the area initially searched.

When it arrived at the Department of Historic Resources lab Monday, the capsule was x-rayed, which appeared to show books, coins, buttons and perhaps minie balls, a form of ammunition in the Civil War.

Northam's administration initially planned to leave the pedestal in place but announced in early December that contractors would remove the pedestal, now covered in graffiti, and transfer the grassy traffic circle where it stood to the city of Richmond.

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