One died killed by the Indians, the other three by disease: the settlers whose bones were identified on the site of the seventeenth century Jamestown (Virginia), are part of the oldest English elite found in America, discovery 'major "full of mysteries.
This is a major discovery, these four men are the oldest English figures to be discovered in America" according to Jim Horn, president of the historical association Jamestown Discovery, who announced Tuesday with the National Museum natural history, the result of nearly two years of excavations and research.
It was there, near the James River, where was landed May 14, 1607 a group of a hundred men, commissioned to form the first English colony in the Americas.
The bones, of which only a third is remained of the skeleton , were discovered in November 2013 during excavations at the church.
They were later identified by a patient work combining modern technology -rayons X, DNA research and research in the British archives, says the archaeologist William Kelso, the chief of the Site.
This is a major discovery, these four men are the oldest English figures to be discovered in America" according to Jim Horn, president of the historical association Jamestown Discovery, who announced Tuesday with the National Museum natural history, the result of nearly two years of excavations and research.
It was there, near the James River, where was landed May 14, 1607 a group of a hundred men, commissioned to form the first English colony in the Americas.
The bones, of which only a third is remained of the skeleton , were discovered in November 2013 during excavations at the church.
They were later identified by a patient work combining modern technology -rayons X, DNA research and research in the British archives, says the archaeologist William Kelso, the chief of the Site.
The investigation continues
Near the church choir, sign of social status, rest an Anglican priest, the Reverend Robert Hunt, the first officer in Jamestown according to scientists, and Captain Gabriel Archer, died at 39 and 34 years.
The two men were part of the first colonizing expedition of 1607 which was commanded by Captain John Smith, famous for having been helped by the Indian Pocahontas according to a legend popularized by a Disney cartoon.
The Indian would also married in 1614 in the same church with an Englishman named John Rolfe, before dying two years later in England, at the age of 21.
Alongside, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, died 34 years ago, was according to scientists the first Knight to be buried in America.
Captain William West, buried nearby, who was killed at age 24 in a skirmish with the Powhatan Indians, was a relative of Lord De La Warr, the governor of Virginia who had to give its name to the Delaware, north of Washington.
"Lost to history for over 400 years, the discovery of these remains reveals new clues about life, death and the importance of religion in a leading English colonies" in America, say scientists.
Because archaeologists also discovered a Catholic shrine, a small silver box containing bones, placed at the foot of the coffin of Gabriel Archer.
Was he secretly Catholic? Unless the subject has had a special meaning for the Church of England at the time? The investigation continues, say archaeologists.
The mystery is less about the death of these men who was still young. "The living conditions were harsh" in this first colony says Jim Horn. "Coming in the New World was risky for a European. The hunger, Indian attacks and disease killed the settlers and most of them did not exceed 40 years," he added.
