Scientists have uncovered the remains of four leaders of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, which was the first permanent English settlement in the British New World. Excavators found the first Anglican minister of the settlement, an explorer and relatives of the governor of colonial Virginia beneath the ruins of a historic church.
James Di Loreto/Smithsonian Institution
Researchers from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation found these remains buried without a coffin. All the bodies were found in the chancel of the church, a burial spot reserved for the colony's elite.
Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution
Jamestown's early years were plagued by hunger, disease and struggles with native tribes. From 1609 to 1610, called "The Starving Time," almost 80% of the Jamestown settlers died. Left stranded without food and needed supplies from England, some settlers turned to cannibalism.
Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution
Scientists say they think these are the remains of Capt. Gabriel Archer, an explorer who rivaled the more famous John Smith. Archer was buried with a silver box believed to be a sacred Catholic object. Since it was found beneath the first Protestant church in the New World, the discovery was shocking, said James Horn, president of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation.
Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution
All the men found died between 1608 and 1610. They were all relatively young when they died -- between 20 and 39 years old.
Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution
Two of the men found -- the Rev. Robert Hunt and Capt. Gabriel Archer -- were part of the first expedition from England in 1607. The other two, Sir Ferdinando Wainman and Capt. William West, were relatives of the colonial governor of Virginia. They arrived in 1610 to help the crippled colony.
