Potentially live Civil War shell found in Va. home

[February 11, 2011]  PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) -- National Park Rangers say they found a potentially live Civil War-era artillery shell in Petersburg, Va., and called in police to check it out.

The shell was found Thursday at a home after rangers with a warrant searched it during a criminal investigation.

The Petersburg Progress-Index reports that local police blocked off streets near the home while state police retrieved the shell.

Officials could not say whether the shell was live.

Civil War-vintage shells are often recovered in Virginia. Three years ago, a relic hunter was killed when a shell exploded in the driveway of his Chester home.

[Associated Press]

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