Jamestown Rediscovery Archaeological Project has released a series of videos detailing the discovery of four graves believed to belong to founders of English America.
Archaeologists from the project joined officials from the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. today to announce the latest of its major finds since beginning the dig in 1994, which include the discovery of the James Fort and cannibalism during the Starving Time of 1609-10.
Jamestown Archaeologists Find Graves of Four English Founders of America
The four graves offer researchers insight into some of the prominent men who helped shape Colonial America, as all are considered to have been key players on the settlement.
Jamestown Rediscovery created videos that offer in-depth looks into the four men whose graves were unearthed – the Rev. Robert Hunt, Capt. Gabriel Archer, Sir Ferdinando Wainman and Capt. William West – while also offering those interested in the scientific process some insight.
Two of the men, Capts. Gabriel Archer and William West, were found with artifacts that piqued the interest of the archaeologists.
West was buried with a silver sash, an indication of his military status.
Archer’s grave included a silver box that researchers believe is a reliquary, a religious artifact typically found in the graves of Catholics – a significant discovery because few colonists openly practiced Catholicism in the largely Anglican settlement.
The silver box was too corroded for archaeologists to open, so Jamestown Rediscovery approached two companies – General Electric and Micro Photonics – to use their scanning technology to see inside.
To visit Jamestown Rediscovery’s YouTube page for more information and discoveries, click here.
