Emily Chan
The knight’s tombstone had carved depressions, indicating that it was once fitted with brass inlays. They were likely destroyed in 1676 during Bacon’s Rebellion.
The inlays included a shield, which may have depicted an unfurled scroll, a family crest, and an armored man standing on top of a pedestal that may have featured inscriptions.
The right and left of the man’s body showed protrusions that suggested a sword hilt and a shield. Together, these clues led to the conclusion that the tombstone belonged to a knight.
There were only two knights in Jamestown who died during the life of the second Jamestown church between 1617 and 1637.
One was Sir Thomas West, the first resident governor of the colony. He died in 1618 while on a transatlantic voyage to Jamestown. No evidence linked him to the tombstone.
The other knight was Sir George Yeardley, who was born in England. He first came to Jamestown in 1610 after being shipwrecked in Bermuda.
He returned to England in 1617 for a short time and then went back to Jamestown a year later. He died there in 1627.
If the knight’s tombstone was Yeardley’s, it may be the oldest known tombstone in what is now the U.S. Native Americans most certainly had earlier grave markers, but they were probably made out of wood and did not survive.
Overall, the research helps us understand more about the extent of trade networks during colonial times and what lengths colonists would go to acquire materials and goods that were not available in the American colonies.
The study was published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.
