Emily Chan
The oldest tombstone in the United States is located in Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. It was founded in 1607 and has been the subject of many archaeological and historical studies.
In the most recent study, experts set out to determine the origins of the black “marble” tombstone. Its design may connect it to an English knight. The study was led by Markus Key, a professor at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and Rebecca Rossi.
While analyzing colonial black “marble” tombstones from the Chesapeake Bay region, Key and colleagues discovered that the oldest one was the knight’s tombstone, which dates back to 1627.
“The particular historical archaeological question we were trying to answer was: How extensive was the trade network in the Chesapeake Bay during colonial times?” Key said. “Little did we realize that colonists were ordering black marble tombstones from Belgium like we order items from Amazon, just a lot slower.”
The researchers examined microfossils in the knight’s tombstone and identified four species that do not co-exist in North America, indicating that the stone was imported from northern Europe.
According to historical evidence, Belgium was the most likely source. The stone was probably transferred from Belgium to London, England, and finally shipped to Jamestown.
The well-to-do English colonists during the 17th century often commissioned stunning tombstones for themselves to show off their wealth. Usually, they were made of black “marble” in the Chesapeake Bay region.
However, in historical documents, any stone that could be polished was referred to as marble. In reality, the tombstones, including the Jamestown knight’s, were made from black limestone.
“The jet-black Belgian ‘marbles’ were the most in-demand and expensive. Successful Virginia colonists who had lived in London would have been familiar with the latest English fashions and tried to replicate these in the colonies,” wrote the study authors.
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