Second time capsule found beneath pedestal of Robert E. Lee statue

A second time capsule was recovered at the former site of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, this time from beneath the statue’s pedestal.

This time capsule, a 36-pound copper box, appears to be the real deal after historians found a separate container in the pedestal that did not match the 1887 time capsule they had expected.

After being checked by Richmond’s bomb squad to make sure it was safe to open, the capsule was taken to the conservation lab at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which will “try to determine how the box is sealed and whether the seal has been breached,” Julie Langan, the department director, told CNN.

“They found it!” Gov. Ralph Northam wrote on social media. “This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for. Conservators studying it — stay tuned for next steps! (Won’t be opened today).”

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT MANSION OF FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR AND LBJ’S DAUGHTER

Langan said the capsule was found “below grade in a very wet area,” and it is “too soon to know whether water infiltrated the box.” She said two paper conservators will be present when the box is opened.

An 1887 article in the Richmond Dispatch describes the roughly 60 items expected to be in the box, including a picture of President Abraham Lincoln lying in his coffin.

The first capsule found where Lee’s statue once resided was found Dec. 22. The lead box contained an 1875 almanac, two books, a coin, and a cloth envelope containing a photograph of a man involved in the design of the statue’s pedestal.

Lee’s statue, which was taken down on Sept. 8, was the final Confederate statue along Richmond’s Monument Avenue.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has not responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.