A copper time capsule from 1887 was sawed open Tuesday, unearthing coins, books, newspaper clippings and other trinkets buried more than 130 years ago under a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va.

       Historians had expected to find a time capsule there, based on a newspaper article at the time, but it took some digging to locate. Last week, conservators unexpectedly found a separate time capsule that they think was left a year or two after the 1887 one. That one contained an 1875 almanac, books and a coin.

       Conservators had been looking for the box since September, when the 12-ton bronze statue of the Confederate general was taken down.

       The 1887 one was found Monday under the statue’s stone pedestal, sitting in a pool of water.

       After pulling the box out, conservators sawed open three sides of the top and slid a blotting paper inside to absorb any condensation within. But the contents weren’t opened until Tuesday, when the fourth side was sawed live on Twitter and Facebook by Kate Ridgway, an archaeological conservator at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

       The first objects removed were metal items including coins, a button that appeared to have the Virginia seal on it and Minie balls, a type of bullet used during the Civil War.

       Some had expected to find a rare photo of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin. Instead, the capsule contained a centerfold from an 1865 issue of Harper’s Weekly featuring a woman over the 16th president’s coffin. The magazine clipping was wet but, like the other contents, still in good condition, said Ms. Ridgway.

       “I think it’s in better shape than we had expected," she said. “We thought everything was going to be soup, and it’s not soup. So it’s pretty great."

       Also found were a Confederate flag etched in wood and an 1883 dime that was stuck to the cover of a bible.

       Julie Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, said she is confident the time capsule opened Tuesday was the one they were looking for from 1887. Tests confirmed the box was made of copper, and its dimensions were close to what has been written about in newspapers.

       Ms. Langan said books and papers still had to be examined. They were put in freezers Tuesday to prevent molding. They will be thawed individually, she said, and blotting papers will be applied to absorb as much moisture as possible to read and conserve the documents.

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       Officials removed the statue of Lee in September, more than a year after Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam said the state would take the monument down following nationwide protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Racial-justice advocates had pushed for its removal for five years.

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