New research reveals America’s oldest tombstone came from Belgium and belonged to an English knight

Jamestown, Virginia, was founded in 1607 and was the first permanent English settlement in America. It has been the subject of much archaeological and historical analysis, including a recent study by Professor Markus M. Key and Rebecca K. Rossi, which sought to determine the provenance of the black marble tombstone of the Jamestown Knight. What they found was unexpected, says Professor Key.

“For the past decade, I have been interested in determining the provenance of lithic artifacts using the fossils they contain. Working on the following project, determining the provenance of colonial black “marble” tombstones from the Chesapeake Bay region, USA

“We found that the oldest tombstone was the Jamestown Knight’s tombstone from 1627. The particular historical archaeological question we were trying to answer was: How extensive was the trading network in the Chesapeake Bay during the colonial era?”

“We didn’t know that the settlers were ordering black marble tombstones from Belgium like we order items from Amazon, but much more slowly.”

In the 17th century, wealthy English settlers often commemorated themselves and their wealth by erecting impressive tombstones. In the Chesapeake Bay region, these were often tombstones made of black “marble.” The Jamestown Knight’s Tombstone is an example.

Placed in Jamestown Church in 1627, it remained in place until it was moved in the 1640s due to construction work on the south entrance. In 1907, the broken headstone was rediscovered, repaired, and placed in the present chancel of Memorial Church.

Despite its name, the tombstone was not made of marble but of black limestone. In historical records, any stone that could be polished was often referred to as “marble.”

The tombstone was hollowed out, indicating that it once contained brass inlays. These were probably destroyed during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. The inlays included a shield, which may have depicted a family crest, an unrolled scroll, and a man in armour standing on a pedestal, which may have once had inscriptions.

To the right and left of the man’s body were protrusions that could indicate the hilt of a sword and that of a shield respectively. This led to the interpretation that the tombstone belonged to a knight.

Only two knights died in Jamestown during the life of the Second Jamestown Church (1617-1637). One of them was Sir Thomas West, the first resident governor of the colony. He died in 1618 while on a transatlantic voyage to Jamestown. No historical or archaeological evidence has been found to link the tombstone to Sir Thomas West.

The second knight was Sir George Yeardley. His grandson by marriage, Adam Thorowgood II, requested in the 1680s that his own tombstone be carved in black “marble”, with the coat of arms of Sir George Yeardley and the same inscription as that on the “broken tomb”. This indicated that the knight’s tombstone had already been broken in the 17th century, before its discovery in 1901.

If the headstone was indeed Yeardley’s, as family evidence suggests, it would be the oldest surviving headstone in North America. Unfortunately, no DNA testing could be done to confirm whether the bones at the original headstone site belonged to Yeardley.

“The part of the Jamestown church where the knight’s grave was found has already been fully excavated by archaeologists. Unfortunately, no bones with recoverable DNA have been preserved to independently test the link to Sir George Yeardley.”

George Yeardley was born in 1588 in Southwark, England. He first arrived in Jamestown in 1610 after being shipwrecked in Bermuda. He served as captain of the guard to Lieutenant Governor Sir Thomas Gates, and later as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He returned to England in 1617, a year after which he was appointed Governor of Virginia and knighted by King James I.

He returned to Jamestown and remained in his post until 1621, until a few years later he returned to England, to be appointed Lord Governor again in 1626. He returned to Jamestown once more and died the following year in 1627.

For his grave, a headstone was commissioned, but its provenance remains a mystery. According to Professor Key, “a ‘headstone’ is a cut stone (and usually engraved) to mark a burial site.

“Native Americans probably had earlier tombstones (perhaps wooden ones that have not survived), but they were not made of carved stone. The English colonists also lacked the technology and skills to carve and engrave tombstones; so they imported them.”

Furthermore, Professor Key states: “The main cost of ashlar is usually the cost of transportation, as the stone itself is relatively inexpensive and weighs a lot. Therefore, most ashlar comes from local sources. One might therefore expect the source of the knight’s tombstone to be local (our first hypothesis).

“Unfortunately, Jamestown is in the coastal plain physiographic province, which is deficient in rock. Therefore, the stone had to be transported to Jamestown.”

To determine the tombstone’s provenance, the researchers studied and identified the fossils it contained. Professor Key explains why this method was chosen: “Because of the evolutionary process, biological species are much more unique across time and space than chemical elements or isotopic ratios.”

The results, based on the identified microfossils (Omphalotis minima and Paraarchaediscus angulatus, and P. concavus), indicated that the tombstone must have come from Ireland or Belgium, as neither species has ever been found in North America.

Historical evidence suggests that Belgium is the likely source of the Lower Carboniferous “black” marble, as the country was the most common source of Lower Carboniferous “black” marble for centuries, from Roman times to the present day. It was particularly popular among the wealthy in England during Yeardley’s lifetime.

He and other Virginian colonists were probably very aware of the latest fashions in England and would probably have tried to replicate them in the colonies.

The research, published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeologyoffers new insights into the extent of Chesapeake Bay trade networks during the colonial era and the efforts of some settlers to obtain goods and materials that were not available to them in their new homes.

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