The mystery of the oldest tombstone in America solved. A new discovery
Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on the origins of the oldest tombstone in the United States. According to research published in the International “Journal of Historical Archeology”, it belonged to an English knight, and his tombstone was imported from Europe. The discovery was helped by… microorganisms.
The oldest tombstone in the United States is located in Jamestown, Virginia. It was the first permanent English settlement in America, built in 1627.
The oldest tombstone in the USA. They discovered the origin through archaeological research
Solving the mystery about the person buried under the tombstone did not cause many problems for scientists. In the entire 17th century, only two English knights died in Jamestown – Sir Thomas West and Sir George Yeardley. Researchers tend to believe that the grave belongs to the latter.
Sir George Yeardley was born in England in 1588. In 1610, he reached Jamestown after a dramatic voyage from the old continent that ended with the shipwreck of his ship near Bermuda. When Sir George Yeardley returned to England in 1617, King James I knighted him. Yeardley did not stay on his native land for long and in 1621 he returned to Jamestown, where he finally died six years later.
The mystery of the oldest tombstone in America solved thanks to microbes
A bigger problem turned out to be discovering the mystery related to the origin of the black limestone from which the tombstone was built. Scientists examined details of carvings and inlays on its surface, which provided space for brass ornaments, including a shield, a scroll and an image of a man in armor. The research was helped by the discovery of fossilized microorganisms found there. According to researchers, these microorganisms did not occur naturally in North America. However, it turned out that they can be found in the areas of today’s Belgium and Ireland, which narrowed the place of origin of black limestone to Belgium.
“The knight’s tombstone must have been imported from Europe,” researchers say. According to their theory, the stone “was extracted and cut to size in Belgium, shipped across the Meuse River, across the English Channel to London, where it was decorated with inlays, and then shipped to Jamestown,” the website reports. The Independent.
Traces of trade with Europe. Discovering the origin of the oldest tombstone in the USA
As noted by the researchers, the discovery allows not only to determine the origin of the tombstone, but also illustrates trade connections between Europe and colonial North America in the 17th century.
The black limestone from which the tombstone was made was one of the “most sought after and expensive” materials in Europe, and “successful Virginia colonists who lived in London were familiar with the latest English fashion and tried to imitate it in the colonies,” researchers emphasize. These findings show how much effort the colonists made to commemorate themselves even in the difficult conditions of the early American colonies.
