JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA—According to a report in The Washington Post, archaeologists are looking for the remains of notable citizens of James Fort in the layers of burials within the memorial church at the site. “There are so many graves cutting through graves, cutting through graves, cutting through graves,” said Jamestown Rediscovery’s chief archaeologist, William M. Kelso. In particular, they are searching for the remains of Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, named governor and captain general of Virginia in 1610 by the Virginia Company of London. In 1618, he died at sea while returning to the colony, and was the first person buried in the church. His remains are presumed to be at the bottom of the layers of graves. De La Warr was in his 40s at the time of his death, and it is known that he suffered from fevers, dysentery, and scurvy during the year that he lived in Virginia. He is thought to have been buried in an aristocrat’s anthropoid-shaped coffin. For more, go to “Jamestown’s VIPs.”
