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July 31, 2015

Skeletons of Four original settlers of Jamestown Colony identified


Skeletons of Four original settlers of Jamestown Colony identified
The bodies of four original settlers of Jamestown Colony have been identified! They are minister Robert Hunt, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, Captain Gabriel Archer and Captain William West.
"One of the bodies was just 5 feet 5 inches long, and missing its hands, most likely from four centuries of deterioration. It had been jostled during burial, so the head and shoulders were scrunched long before the wooden coffin lid and the weight of the dirt above had collapsed on it. Flesh no longer held the jaw shut; when this skeleton was brushed free late in 2013, it looked unhinged, as if it were howling. The bones, now labeled 3046C, belonged to a man who had come to the New World on the first trio of ships from England to the spot called Fort James, James Cittie or, as we know it, Jamestown. He survived the first wave of deaths that followed the Englishmen’s arrival in May of 1607. Over the next two years, he conspired to take down one leader and kill another. This man had a murderous streak. He died, along with hundreds of settlers—most of the colony—during the seven-month disaster known as the "starving time"." [Source: http://www.smithsonianmag.com]
 Read the whole story at New Jamestown Discovery Reveals the Identities of Four Prominent Settlers

1 comment:

R. W. Prinkey said...

After how many years of undisturbed burial does it become acceptable to dig people up and gawk at them?