Robert E. Lee: Virginia workers open Civil War era time capsule

A conservation team in the US state of Virginia has opened a box containing Confederate war memorabilia believed to be more than 130 years old.

It contained newspapers, books and ammunition dated to the US Civil War.

Workers discovered the container in the state capital of Richmond while finishing the removal of a statue of the Confederate general Robert E Lee.

The memorial was removed after protests against it following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

Records held by the Library of Virginia say that the capsule was buried in 1877 and that dozens of local residents contributed around 60 objects to the container.

The lead conservator for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Kate Ridgway, said the contents and design of the box appeared to match the historical records.