Historians in Virginia believe that they have found a time capsule under a monument to Robert E. Lee, a former Confederate general. They are not very confident about how to extract it from a 1,500-pound granite.

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For about four years, Richmond, Virginia, has been talking about the 1887 time capsule — rumored to contain a rare photo of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin — hidden under the towering statue of Robert E. Lee.

After an unsuccessful attempt to find the time capsule in September, when the statue was removed, historians were almost certain that they found it on Friday. What they are not sure about is how to recover this artifact from the 1,500-pound granite block it is on.

Julie Langen, director of the Virginia Department of Historical Resources, said the agency’s conservation laboratory is used to handling tiny pieces of pottery, bone or glass, but it has never handled such rocks.

“It’s not difficult to send it to the building, to the conservation laboratory and put it down, but it’s there,” Ms. Langen said. "And it's not something you can pick up and move easily, so it's a dilemma."

The administrator can't completely hit the slate with a jackhammer or sledgehammer. If they do, they may damage the 134-year-old time capsule, which may or may not be embedded in it. According to historical records, there are an estimated 60 items, most of which are related to the Confederate States of America.

Ann Morton, owner and principal of Morton Archaeological Research Services in Macedonia, New York, said that even huge granite like Richmond should have some kind of access mechanism, because the person who created it must have a way to place it in the rock.

She added that time capsules during the civil war are relatively common because it was a period of major social and political turmoil. "Time capsules are part of creating memories, by putting some important things underground and hoping that future generations will be able to see these materials, so that memories can be made permanent," Dr. Morton said.

According to reports, time capsules have been found in Confederate statues in Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas. In July 2020, the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Cultural Resources opened a time capsule that has been buried in the Confederate Monument since 1894.

Journalist and author Dale M. Brumfield wrote an article in Richmond Magazine in December 2017, describing references to the Richmond Time Capsule found in historical records, including suggestions that it might contain photos from Lincoln's coffin.

One day in September, state officials believed that the space capsule was embedded in the northeast corner of the base, so they called in reporters and conservationists. About 12 hours later, the search was cancelled, and the mystery of the time capsule remained stubbornly intact.

On Friday, the situation changed when a staff member was disassembling the 40-foot-high pedestal where the statue was located. They chiseled into a granite slab with a lead rectangle on one side. According to the office of Governor Ralph S. Northam, it was found about 20 feet high and appeared to be largely undamaged.

In the small team along Monument Avenue, a forklift transported the granite slabs to the protection laboratory.

Ms. Langen said that all signs indicate that the lead rectangle is part of the lead box that holds the time capsule, although it is too early to say that it is 100% sure. She said that the lead box can hold a time capsule and is described as a copper box in historical records.

"Suffice to say, you can tap on the lead panel, and you can see that there is a hole under it," Ms. Langan said.

Ms. Langen said that once the granite slab is cut at least in half, it will use an X-ray machine to determine the direction of the box and the position of the lid. "It will be a delicate process to get it and open it without causing any damage to it," she said.

But first, they must fight granite.

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