134-year-old time capsule unleashes almost all of its mysteries in the US

A copper box of about thirty centimeters plunges Richmond back into its tormented history.

This small town in Virginia, located two hours from Washington, seeks to forget a slavery past of which the statues of the generals of the Civil War, now unbolted, were the last emblems.

But this week, under one of them, a time capsule hidden over 130 years ago, and sought after by all collectors and historians across the country, was found.

And open.

Read also United States: Charlottesville debunks the statues of Confederate generals at the origin of race riots

To fully understand, you have to rewind 134 years to October 26, 1887. On that day, an article in the

, a local newspaper, took stock of the contents of a box set about to be buried for the posterity under a statue of the most famous of the Confederate generals, General Robert E. Lee.

Among the items announced is an unseen photograph of President Abraham Lincoln in his coffin - a historic snapshot that has since caused panic in the collector's market.

Since then, despite extensive archaeological research, no trace of the box.

Until Friday, December 17.

Articles from 1887 announcing the existence of a time capsule in Richmond, Virginia (United States).

Government of Virginia website

Hidden under the plinth of an unbolted statue

That day, workers are busy demolishing the granite base of the statue, since moved to the museum of "African-American history of Virginia" with a view to being potentially recast.

After a few blows with a pickax, they come across a wooden trapdoor, which reveals a chest the size of a shoebox.

Suffice to say that everyone's curiosity is piqued.

Starting with the governor of this Democratic state, Ralph Northam, who immediately showered his constituents with tweets about the famous discovery.

“Our teams may have located the Confederate time capsule from 1887 on Monument Avenue in Richmond.

Everyone is working hard!

», He shares, full of enthusiasm.

Crews may have located the 1887 Confederate time capsule on Monument Avenue in Richmond.

The Commonwealth's historic preservation team is examining the site now.

Everyone's working hard!

pic.twitter.com/957JFXdwdb

- Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) December 17, 2021

Pellet.

The box exhumed is not the right one.

Only three soggy books from the late 19th century, a very blurry photo, and no spectacular Lincoln iconography.

Specialists believe that it is not the one mentioned in the articles of 1887, but a case buried by the workers who erected the statue three years later.

Much less interesting.

A second buried capsule

Luck turns a week and a half later.

A second treasure is revealed, buried even deeper in the same pedestal of the unbolted statue.

The governor shouts victory: "They have found her!"

Chances are, this is the capsule everyone has been looking for.

The Conservatives are looking at it.

Stay tuned for the next steps!

"

They found it!

This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for.

Conservators studying it — stay tuned for next steps!

(Won't be opened today) pic.twitter.com/3lWrsPGZd2

- Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) December 27, 2021

Indeed, the box is indeed made of copper, as provided for in the article of 1887, while the first was made of iron.

After a laser beam pass made on Monday, it seems to contain the expected objects, according to the governor, who continues to tweet.

X-rays give a first look inside the time capsule: Experts believe there may be coins, books, buttons, and even ammunition from the Civil War.

The box will be opened tomorrow at 1:00 PM!

pic.twitter.com/zyVWoHa61o

- Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) December 27, 2021

Hacksaw in hand, the latter was opened the next day by technicians from the Department of Historic Resources of the State of Virginia.

The thriller is broadcast live on television and on Governor Ralph Northam's personal Twitter account.

WATCH LIVE: 1887 Time Capsule Opening in Richmond https://t.co/FzxCudvZZ2

- Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) December 28, 2021

The moment of truth is approaching.

With great care, researchers from the Department of Historical Resources in Virginia unpack the artifacts one by one, with the clicks of cameras in the press.

Inside, "the elements were more wet than what we had imagined", will detail afterwards Kate Ridgway, the principal curator in charge of the operation.

“There was water condensation, caused by a rapid temperature change after the box was pulled out of the plinth.

But overall the capsule and its contents are not in such bad condition ”.

What's in the box?

What was in the box?

Minié bullets (19th century ammunition), notes and coins issued by the Confederate government, newspapers, an 1887 almanac, a bible, documents from Masonic lodges in the region, the fragment of a bomb used during the Battle of Fredericksburg, won by the secessionists in 1862… but no photo of Abraham Lincoln.

The most prominent document is a drawing of a kneeling woman meditating before this former President of the United States, assassinated on April 14, 1865. The sketch had been published as a central spread in the journal Harper's Weekly two weeks later.

The two-page illustration from the April 29, 1865 edition of Harper's Weekly magazine, found in the second capsule.

REUTERS / Jay Paul jay paul

"We are not sure we know everything in the box," has since tempered researcher Kate Ridgway, who reports that the analyzes are still underway.

New time capsule for a new future

Photo of Lincoln or not, the local authorities want to take advantage of the media enthusiasm around this box of the past to "move forward", according to the governor of the state.

He also announced that a new capsule will be buried, "so that future generations will remember Virginia today, and not that of the past."

A call for applications, launched in early 2021, has already collected around a hundred objects and testimonies from residents of Richmond.