JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA—The Daily Press reports that archaeologists have found the outline of another west-facing grave in the soil adjacent to the 1639 church building site at Jamestown. At the time, it was common to bury Christians with their feet and eyes pointed to the east and Jerusalem, but this individual was buried within a hexagonal coffin that denoted high status. Archaeologist Sean Romo of Historic Jamestowne said the Reverend Robert Hunt, the colony’s first minister, who died in 1608, is thought to have been buried in a west-facing burial, as was George Yeardley, a governor of the colony, who died in 1617. This newly discovered burial, which is wider at the top than at the bottom, may have also held an important position within the settlement. David Givens, Director of Archaeology at Jamestown, thinks the grave may hold the remains of Governor Lord De La Warr, who died while traveling from England to Virginia in 1618. “The acting governor, Samuel Argall, hated Lord De La Warr,” Givens said. “If the decision was made to bury him outside the church rather than inside, that may have been something Argall decided.” To read about burials of the colony's prominent early settlers, go to "Jamestown's VIPs," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2015.
