Jamestown, VA. The site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World established in 1607.
By the 1630s, the English Civil War had sent a number of royal supporters packing, and some went to Virginia to settle. In the early 1990s, historian and archeologist Bill Kelso knew that the site remained exactly where it was in 1607. Excavations at the site revealed many strange wonders.
A Possibly Cannibalized Skull
A skull and a severed leg bone buried in an early 17th-century kitchen cellar was discovered during a 2012 Jamestowne Rediscovery/Preservation Virginia archeological dig.
Visible cut marks as if to remove the flesh for consumption suggest cannibalistic activity.
But why would Jamestown’s upright settlers do such a thing?
It came from a terrible time during the earliest years of the colony. This “Starving Time” decreased the settlements population from 500 to 60 in less than a year.
Many succumbed to disease, but most of the settlers perished from hunger. Accounts from survivors and acquaintances state that the colonists resorted to cannibalism as a result.
This skull was nicknamed “Jane.”
Jamestowne archeologists and Smithsonian Institute scientists trace the remains to a 14-year-old female, though they aren’t sure if she was butchered to be consumed or if she died first and was then consumed.
According to letters written to the Virginia Company, the same corporation that created the Jamestown colony, the settlers ate whatever animal they found, before turning to recently buried corpses.
But one man among the colonists was said to have butchered and “powdered” (salted) his pregnant wife.
Some accounts provide the gruesome detail of how he cut their baby out of her and threw it into the James River. His stash of “wife meat” was eventually found, with only her head missing. Could this have been Jane?
A Child’s Shoes
Even shoes survived in Jamestown’s pits and wells. Unearthed discoveries revealed a child’s worn pair of shoes, made of goatskin leather.
The shoes suggests light wear, as if a young child took his or her first steps in the New World in them.
Shoes were a mark of prestige, especially for the children, who usually went barefoot.
These shoes may have belonged to a child of a wealthy Jamestown family or perhaps a child of lesser status but was spoiled by mom and dad.
A Signet Ring With A Shakespearean Connection
A brass signet ring, embossed with the image of an eagle with spread wings was found during the dig.
The symbol was associated with the Strachey family of England. William Strachey, an early Jamestown colonist, was a playwright who was in William Shakespeare’s literary circle.
Strachey’s ship, the Sea Venture, got caught in a hurricane and landed, a bit damaged, on Bermuda.
The crew and passengers stayed there all winter until repairs on the ship could be carried out. When spring arrived, they sailed for Jamestown.
The other ships that had made it to Jamestown, brought the population to around 500. But it was the Sea Venture which carried the food, seeds, and farming implements, including firearms and supplies good for hunting or fort defense.
The settlement would have struggled had it not been for them.
Eventually, the survivors wanted the Sea Venture to take them away from James Fort, so it was decided that everyone would board the ship and return to England.
As they were headed out the James River and into the Chesapeake Bay, a group of ships was seen carrying new colonists and fresh supplies so they turned back to give Jamestown another shot.
When Strachey returned to England, he told his fellow poets and authors stories from his adventures in Bermuda and Virginia. Shakespeare supposedly based The Tempest on the shipwrecked Sea Venture.
And as for Strachey’s ring, no one knows if he lost it, or sold it to a person who then lost the ring.
A Knight’s Tomb
An elaborate grave covering what appears to have belonged to a knight was unearthed on the site. It may have been a special memorial for a family member, or perhaps a real knight settled in Virginia at the time.
A certain Lord de la Warr, an early colonial governor, held a title, but there is no proof that he was a knight.
Sir George Yeardley, a man historians think is the owner of the knight’s tomb, served as governor and returned to England to secure his knighthood.
Historians studied letters and records of Yeardley’s heirs for clues and found one written by Yeardley’s step-grandson.
He mentions that the family would like to order a large, black marble tomb to be embossed with Sir George Yeardley on the cover. However, the knight’s tomb’s crest is missing.
Yeardley could be the mystery knight, but the case may never be solved.
The original site of the tomb is also in question as the stone was moved to serve as a paver in the aisle of the memorial church built at Jamestown in the early 20th century.
No one knows if remains buried beneath its current location is the original body.
The Remains Of A Teenage Settler And The Arrowhead That Ended Him
Archaeologists discovered the remains of a 14 or 15-year-old boy who had a Native American arrowhead buried in the bone of his left leg, which points to the possibility that he was cut down in a fight.
Fights with the Powhatan people were not unheard of, but this burial happened early in 1607 after the arrival of the first colonists.
The victim appears to have been hastily buried, due to the position of the body, plus the dirt covering him was lacking European artifacts.
Historians say he may be the colony’s first fatality.
Captain John Smith and Captain Gabriel Archer wrote about an incident just two weeks after their arrival and the establishment of Jamestown.
They described how a young man was lost in a battle with the Powhatans.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society’s American Journeys Collection, Captain Smith noted: “[The Native Americans] had ent’red the fort with our own men, which were then busied in setting corn… in which conflict most of the council was hurt, a boy slain.”
A Catholic Reliquary
A burial site containing the graves of four early and prominent colonists held the remains of a man named Gabriel Archer.
He arrived on the first voyage to Virginia and had a rivalry with Captain John Smith. For 400 years, historians presumed that all colony leaders were devout Protestant Christians.
But Archer’s grave contained a small Catholic reliquary, a container with objects of religious significance. Using CT scan technology, scientists found shards of bones in the box.
Jamestown, established in 1607, was an English colony in Virginia. England was a Protestant Christian country after years of religious wars, with the Protestant James I on the throne.
But Spain was very much Catholic, establishing their claim in the New World with their beliefs.
As a result, English leaders wanted to set their Protestant foothold across the Atlantic. They did not want the entire New World to be Catholic, and England had no interest in returning to a religious war.
But “Papists” still existed in 1607. Finding a Catholic reliquary in early Jamestown was still exciting to find with the Protestant Archer.
Jamestown archeologists unearthed other Catholic items as well, including rosary beads and crucifixes.
Historians propose that it may have been the result of trading with Spaniards passing through the settlement, but the reliquary has raised other questions regarding Jamestown.
Double Graves
Early Virginia Company records charged the original colonists of 1607 to make sure that natives did not have knowledge of any sickness or death within the fort.
When the first settlers would perish from the Powhatans or illness, a graveyard was created within Fort James.
Living near graves was not practiced by Europeans, but the Virginia Company’s orders had to be followed. The graveyard filled quickly, with John Smith recording 50 colonists dying between May and September of 1607 alone.
So when archaeologists began excavating, they discovered a few graves with more than one person’s remains.
No one knows why two bodies were buried together that way, but saving time digging graves and conserving space within the fort are highly possible reasons.
A German Brass Counterweight
17th century Jamestown was very cosmopolitan. Polish glassblowers even made their way in during the first decade of the colony to establish a glass industry.
English settlers interacted with Spanish settlers even though there was animosity between the 2 nations. Some colonists were already world travelers, as evidenced by the items unearthed by archaeological digs.
Some pieces found come from places other than England.
This German brass counterweight was found in a dig associated with the Civil War than early Jamestown, but the lion-shaped weight dates to early 17th century.
This piece was manufactured in Nuremberg and weighs just under two ounces, designed to assist the user in proper measurement when using a balance scale.
A Lead-Riddled Body In A Military Sash
Four early Jamestown graves were unearthed in the original church site’s chancel, one of the most sacred areas of the church. Archeologists knew the place indicated the high status of those buried in them.
DNA testing and examination of the artifacts had researchers and scientists identifying the remains inside.
Captain William West, one of the four prominent colonists, was buried in the church chancel. He perished at the age of 24 in a 1610 fight with the Powhatan.
His remains wore an ornate, fringed military sash. Researchers concluded that it may be silk, and it was even decorated with silver fringe and spangles.
West’s remains contained high levels of lead. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the wealthy used dishes and vessels made from silver and pewter containing lead.
The other three men buried were Captain Gabriel Archer, Reverend Robert Hunt, and Sir Ferdinando Wainman.
A Trumpet Mouthpiece
This trumpet mouthpiece may have come from Nuremberg, Germany, since that’s where most trumpets of the 17th century were manufactured.
There are no known English-made trumpets from the period, but regardless of its origin, the trumpet may be the earliest one found in America.
Trumpets have always been a part of fort society, so James Fort was no exception. These were blown to announce the colonists’ arrival at Native American camps.
An early colonial governor, Thomas Dale, wrote a warning to Chief Powhatan.
He said that if the chief did not return runaway colonists or stolen items, the colony’s leaders would start a conflict with “our Drums and Trumpets.”
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