Look at the news knows reporter Ren Meixing Pan Yi
2021-12-24 13:09
On Wednesday, December 22, local time, researchers in Virginia found a rusty 1875 annual calendar, a cloth envelope and a silver coin in a "time capsule." For more than 130 years, this time capsule has been preserved under a statue of General Robert E. Lee.
General Lee was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Forces during the American Civil War, serving in the Confederacy against the emancipation of slavery. As a result, the General Lee Monument, in the heart of Richmond, once the capital of the Confederate States, has long been seen as a symbol of racial injustice, and part of its bronze statue was removed in September.
Since the beginning of December, the municipal government has begun to remove the 12-meter-high base of the monument. During this period, the construction team has been cautious because according to historical records, the base of the statue contains a "time capsule" from 1890.
An 1887 newspaper article suggested that the box contained souvenirs of the Civil War, as well as a "photograph of Lincoln lying in a coffin." In addition, Records from the Library of Virginia indicate that 37 Richmond residents, organizations, and businesses placed about 60 items into the capsule, mostly related to the Confederacy.
After half a month of excavation, on Friday, workers found a piece of granite weighing 680 kilograms at a depth of 6 meters from the base, in which a box was embedded. However, this shoebox-sized box was much smaller than historians expected. In addition, the material of the box is lead, not copper as shown on the record.
"We were all surprised when we found out it was lead," said Julie Langan, director of the Department of Historic Resources in Virginia.
On Wednesday, conservators spent 5 hours carefully priing open the "time capsule," which surprised many people.
There were three books in the box: an 1875 calendar, a book with a worn-out pink cover, and an ominous pamphlet, all of which appeared to have been damaged by water. Among them, the pink cover book is The Huguenot Lovers: A Tale of the Old Dominion, first published in 1889. The author is Collinson Pierrepont Edwards Burgwyn, the designer of the street where the monument is located.
In addition, there was a silver coin and a cloth envelope in the box. According to reports, the silver coin reacted with the air at the moment of opening the box, and the color gradually dimmed.
On the same day, Florida Governor Ralph Northam witnessed the opening of the box. At the press conference after this, Northam said that the condition of these cultural relics is not very good, and the conservators are trying their best to restore and preserve them. He believes that when the water damage is repaired, the three books in the box will reveal what people really thought in the late 19th century.
"This is an important day in the history of Richmond and Virginia," Northam said.
On the site where the statue was removed, workers are still carefully working on the box because the boxes found earlier differ from historical records. Devon Henry, the contractor responsible for removing the statue and pedestal, told the media that a second "time capsule" could be unearthed after that.