On Wednesday, a time capsule buried for more than 130 years was opened in Richmond, Virginia, excavated at the bottom of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and contain artifacts that show a microcosm of life in the Confederate capital.
Historians are understood to have painstakingly opened the corroded box for several hours and removed the first possession: a thin maroon book. Kate Ridgeway, administrator of virginia's Department of Historical Resources, gazed at the rusty time capsule and said, "It's very damp in the capsule and we're doing our best to preserve this book." ”
In addition to this, a coin was found in the time capsule, several books of different sizes and colors, and an envelope containing a photograph. Considering the long time, there are also some items in it that are difficult to identify.
Richway revealed to the media that after opening the capsule, the team members quickly placed the artifacts inside for subsequent reduction treatment. According to foreign media reports, there is also a history book suspected of 1875.
(Workers who removed the statue's base found the stone containing the time capsule in early December.)
It is reported that this time capsule was discovered by the staff who removed the base of the statue in early December. Experts estimate that this capsule dates back to 1887. According to records from the Governor's Office, 37 Richmond residents, organizations and businesses at the time contributed about 60 items to the capsule, many of which were related to the Confederacy.
(Staff removes bronze statue of General Robert E. Lee)
Previously, the murder of George Floyd by police in minneapolis, the United States, triggered a nationwide demonstration of racial justice, so in September this year, the bronze statue of General Robert E. Lee was ready to be demolished. The removal of the statue was delayed until December due to lawsuits filed by some residents opposing the demolition.
Local historian and writer Dale Brunfield has studied this time capsule. After learning about the size, material, and contents of the time capsule, he quickly began speculating about what was inside the box. Bramfield said in an interview: "I felt a little bit wrong from the start. The more I felt anomalous, the more I studied my notes and some historical records. I said it was a special time capsule. ”
Bramfield also became suspicious of the capsule when he learned that the capsule was 6 meters from the base of the statue. Based on this information, he believes the books and photos are related to two people involved in the statue's construction who want to have their own time capsules. "I think these people decided to place this little capsule box a few meters away from the pedestal of the statue to commemorate themselves. They stopped construction on the way to the statue, and probably also held a small private ceremony to put the time capsule in, cover it, and then unknowingly continue the work. This time capsule is like their own little secret. ”
With the time capsule being opened more than a hundred years ago, the state is currently planning to make a new time capsule. "This statue and its time capsule reflect Virginia in 1890, a historic change that has taken place over the past 18 months, and we should use a new time capsule to represent the current state of society," Northam said at a news conference in September."
It is reported that the state has selected 39 people to add cultural relics to the 2021 time capsule, which is expected to contain items related to the new crown virus, including masks and vaccination cards, as well as items related to the 2020 racial justice protests.
Wuhan Morning Post intern reporter Chen Mengting