Archaeologists finally solve mystery behind oldest gravestone in US, belonging to English knight

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The oldest known gravestone in the United States is that of an English knight who likely came from Belgium, a new study has shown, shedding more light on trade routes linked to colonial America.

Archaeologists know that the tombstone belonged to a knight and was erected in 1627 in Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. But it’s unclear exactly where in Europe the black limestone came from.

The new study, recently published in International Journal of Historical ArchaeologyHe evaluated the inscriptions and inlays on the tombstone to trace its origins.

Scientists have discovered that it contains a carved depression that likely once held copper inlays of a shield, an open scroll, and a depiction of an armored man.

Historical records indicate that two knights died at Jamestown during the 17th century – Sir Thomas West, in 1618, and Sir George Yardley.

In the 1680s, Sir Yardley’s step-grandson commissioned a tombstone for himself with the same inscription on the black limestone.

This led researchers to suspect that the tombstone, which dates from 1627, belonged to Sir George Yardley.

Sir Yardley was born in Southwark, England, in 1588 and arrived in Jamestown in 1610 after surviving a shipwreck near Bermuda.

He was knighted by King James I when he returned to England in 1617. He returned to Jamestown in 1621 and died there in 1627.

Scientists analyzed fragments of gravestones and found tiny fossilized microbes, many of which were not found in North America. The researchers said the fossilized microbes were found in what are now Belgium and Ireland.

They were then able to narrow down the source of the gravestone to Belgium, which was known at the time to be the most common source of this type of limestone.

“Therefore, the knights’ gravestones had to be imported from Europe. Historical evidence suggests that these gravestones were imported from Belgium, from where they were transported to London and from there to Jamestown,” the scholars wrote.

“We assume that it was quarried and cut to size in Belgium, shipped up the Meuse, across the English Channel to London where it was carved and copper inlayed, and finally shipped to Jamestown.”

The findings indicate the extent of trade networks linking Europe and Jamestown during the colonial era.

According to the study, these dark black stones were the “most sought-after and most expensive” in Europe at the time.

“Successful Virginia colonists who lived in London must have been aware of the latest English fashions and tried to replicate them in the colonies,” the researchers said.

The findings highlight the effort some colonists were willing to go to to memorialize themselves even during some of the harshest periods in the history of the early American colonies.