A recent study conducted in one of the most historic enclaves in the U.S. is fascinating for several reasons. First, it seems researchers finally have answers to many of the questions about the first permanent English settlement in America. Second, it reveals that even 400 years ago, if you were a millionaire, you could afford whatever you wanted from wherever you wanted. Although there was no Amazon to bring you your orders in the 1600s, the packages did get to their owners, albeit slower.
The study. Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, is home to what experts have always considered the oldest tombstone in the U.S. However, despite being more than 400 years old, the scientific community hasn’t provided any conclusive answer about it, making the black limestone monument a veritable mystery to science.
Nevertheless, a new study by Dickinson College professor Markus Key and geomorphologist Rebecca Rossi, who set out to determine the origin of the Jamestown knight’s black “marble” tombstone, has led to an unexpected discovery: The monument isn’t from America.
The history. Although historians had an idea of who the gravestone in question belonged to, how it got there was a mystery. The reason? Early settlers had no experience carving gravestones. As such, determining its origin would offer a deeper understanding of colonial America and help better understand the trade routes at the time.
What was known? Early settlers originally placed the stone on the floor of the church in Jamestown, built in 1617. Then, sometime in the 1640s, someone moved it during an expansion of the church. No one remembered this piece for the next 250 years until it was discovered and repaired in 1907.
The local administration then moved the piece of marble to the then-new Memorial Church. There, it remained a treasure, and people revered the tombstone. It featured a silhouette of a person in armor and what appeared to be a shield and sword in the decorative design. Experts suggested that someone built the tombstone in honor of a knight.
The millionaire and his tombstone. In this case, researchers aren’t certain what the name of the deceased is, but his economic standing seems obvious. He appears to have been prosperous enough at the time to warrant such a monument. In fact, wealthy English settlers in the 17th century often commemorated themselves and their wealth with impressive tombstones. These were usually black “marble” tombstones in the Chesapeake Bay region. The Jamestown gentleman’s tombstone is one example.
However, the tombstone wasn’t made of marble but of black limestone. In historical documents, people often referred to any stone that could be polished as “marble.” Notably, the monument had carved depressions, indicating that it had once been inlaid with brass.
The two possibilities. Historians had two theories about who the tombstone belonged to, both of which centered on the only two gentlemen who died in Jamestown during the existence of the second church (1617-1637). One was Sir Thomas West, the colony’s first resident governor. He died during a transatlantic voyage to Jamestown in 1618. Still, no historical or archaeological evidence linked the gravestone to him.
The second knight was Sir George Yeardley. His adopted grandson, Adam Thorowgood II, requested his black “marble” tombstone in the 1680s. He asked that it bear Yeardley’s coat of arms and the same inscription as the “broken grave.” This indicated that the knight’s gravestone had been broken in the 17th century, before its discovery in 1901. If the gravestone was indeed Yeardley’s, as the family evidence suggests, it would be the oldest surviving gravestone in North America.
Unfortunately, researchers couldn’t conduct DNA testing to confirm that the bones from the original gravestone site belonged to Yeardley.
Where was it made? Whether it’s Yeardley or West, it’s clear that the tombstone belonged to a wealthy gentleman. But where did it come from if no one had the technology to build it? To find out, Key, the Dickinson College geophysicist, thought on a small scale. How did he do that? By looking at microfossils embedded in the limestone.
In the resulting study, published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Key noted that fossils are often more unique to a time and space than chemical composition due to evolutionary processes. In addition, limestone is an excellent medium for preserving fossils because it’s resistant to heat and pressure.
The solution: cutting the gravestone. Key cut thin slices from preserved fragments of the tombstone. By doing so, the researcher found several microfossils of single-celled organisms called foraminifera. In the study, he explains that the ages of the organisms varied, with some dating back to the Mississippian period, nearly 360 million years ago.
However, several species he found were endemic to a single area of Europe, including parts of England, Ireland, and Belgium. According to the researcher, “These species did not co-occur anywhere in North America. The knight’s tombstone had to be imported from Europe. Historical evidence of similar colonial tombstones around the Chesapeake Bay suggests the source was Belgium.”
The rich always get what they want. Ultimately, this research serves as a reminder that whims have no bounds when you have a fortune. The researcher observed that black imitation marble gravestones were all the rage in England at the time of the Jamestown colony. Prominent residents would have been eager to follow more modern burial trends.
Analysis suggests that the stone probably came from Belgium. It then traveled to London, where someone carved it and added brass inlays that have been lost over time. Finally, it arrived by ship to the New World. Yes, it was a real treasure within the reach of very few. As Key recalls, “Little did we realize that colonists were ordering black marble tombstones from Belgium like we order items from Amazon, just a lot slower.”
Image | International Journal of Historical Archaeology
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