Lee statue base reassembled after failed time capsule search
RICHMOND, Va. – Workers returned Friday to the site in Richmond where a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stood for more than a century, but won’t resume their search for a 134-year-old time capsule state officials believe is buried in the statue’s enormous granite pedestal.
Crews spent about 12 hours Thursday removing massive stones and digging in search of the 1887 time capsule, but were unable to find it.
Work was underway Friday to reassemble the pedestal pieces that were removed, but crews do not plan to spend any more time digging for the capsule, said Dena Potter, a spokeswoman for the state agency managing the job.
“It’s going well but slowly, as we anticipated it would,” Potter said of the reassembly work.