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PETERSBURG - National Park Rangers asked for assistance from local and State Police Thursday after serving a search warrant on a home in the city and finding a potentially live, Civil War-era, unexploded artillery shell.
The shell was discovered Thursday at around 1 p.m. after Park Rangers executed a search warrant on the home in the 1800 block of Oakland Street as part of a criminal investigation.
"Due to the dangers involved, when the shell was discovered we called the Petersburg police for assistance," said Petersburg National Battlefield Chief Ranger Kevin Taylor.
Petersburg police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt said that the local police provided assistance with traffic control by blocking off the streets, but that the State Police provided assistance with the artillery shell.
Taylor identified the shell as a Schenkl shell. The shell is a hollow piece of metal that gunpowder would have been packed into, he said. A percussion cap is placed in one end and designed to cause the shell to explode.
Taylor said it was not known whether or not the shell discovered in the home was live or not, but given the inherent dangers, investigators decided to ask for assistance from the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Richmond Field Office, Bomb Unit.
Petersburg National Battlefield Cultural Resource Manager Julie Steele explained that the Schenkl shell was used by the Union Army during the Civil War. "It was really high tech for the time," Steele said.
But the shells were also known for being unstable.
Taylor said that what many may not realize, especially relic hunters, is that the historical research value of such artifacts is destroyed when it is removed from the archeological resource it was found in.
The shell itself was found as part of the search warrant that was executed around 10 a.m. Thursday. Taylor said that the warrant was part of a criminal investigation into illegal relic hunting. "We were well into the search warrant when the shell was discovered," Taylor said. The call for assistance to Petersburg and the State Police was made immediately upon its discovery and the assistance arrived shortly thereafter around 1:30 p.m.
"We started this investigation a while back," Taylor said. The search warrant was part of an effort to provide more evidence against the suspect and the illegal relic hunting and to determine whether or not the suspect has been selling the relics he has recovered. "We're going to be here a long time cataloging everything."
Read more: http://progress-index.com/news/park-...#ixzz1Dgcw5TFw
The shell was discovered Thursday at around 1 p.m. after Park Rangers executed a search warrant on the home in the 1800 block of Oakland Street as part of a criminal investigation.
"Due to the dangers involved, when the shell was discovered we called the Petersburg police for assistance," said Petersburg National Battlefield Chief Ranger Kevin Taylor.
Petersburg police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt said that the local police provided assistance with traffic control by blocking off the streets, but that the State Police provided assistance with the artillery shell.
Taylor identified the shell as a Schenkl shell. The shell is a hollow piece of metal that gunpowder would have been packed into, he said. A percussion cap is placed in one end and designed to cause the shell to explode.
Taylor said it was not known whether or not the shell discovered in the home was live or not, but given the inherent dangers, investigators decided to ask for assistance from the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Richmond Field Office, Bomb Unit.
Petersburg National Battlefield Cultural Resource Manager Julie Steele explained that the Schenkl shell was used by the Union Army during the Civil War. "It was really high tech for the time," Steele said.
But the shells were also known for being unstable.
Taylor said that what many may not realize, especially relic hunters, is that the historical research value of such artifacts is destroyed when it is removed from the archeological resource it was found in.
The shell itself was found as part of the search warrant that was executed around 10 a.m. Thursday. Taylor said that the warrant was part of a criminal investigation into illegal relic hunting. "We were well into the search warrant when the shell was discovered," Taylor said. The call for assistance to Petersburg and the State Police was made immediately upon its discovery and the assistance arrived shortly thereafter around 1:30 p.m.
"We started this investigation a while back," Taylor said. The search warrant was part of an effort to provide more evidence against the suspect and the illegal relic hunting and to determine whether or not the suspect has been selling the relics he has recovered. "We're going to be here a long time cataloging everything."
Read more: http://progress-index.com/news/park-...#ixzz1Dgcw5TFw
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