With a video, Jamestown Rediscovery and the Smithsonian Institution today announced the discovery and examination of the graves of four of the colony’s earliest founders in the excavation of the chancel the 1608 church at Historic Jamestown (the site of the Pocahontas/Rolfe nuptials). Two were members of the original landing party in May 1607 and two were related to Thomas West, Lord de la Ware, who saved the colony from extinction with his fleet’s arrival during the Starving Times in 1610.
According to Elizabeth Kostelny, CEO of Preservation Virginia, owner of the Historic Jamestown site and parent of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, “Not only are the discoveries exciting, but so is the science and technology behind the research,” [which is also helping us to “better understand our past.”]
It is also interesting to read differing the several perspectives on the discovery. The post on the Encyclopedia Virginia blog is especially compelling. The Washington Post also published its account of the announcement with a nice link to its 2007 article about the original discovery of James Fort. The Business Insider, Richmond Times-Dispatch, NPR, Nature, the BBC and many other media outlets made advance visits to Historic Jamestown last week for background and advanced filming. Other reports are in the LA Times, NY Times, Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, Fox News, Guardian, National Geographic, Huffington Post, Slate, Student Science and The Wall Street Journal. Many other papers and TV media channels picked up and reprinted these from wire services. Via Brevis posted the genealogy of those found in the graves.
