Archeologists have uncovered human remains near what once was America's first Protestant church in Jamestown, according to the Guardian. The 400-yearold remains are said to be those of the earliest four leaders of the Virginia colony.
The four coffins are believed to contain Capt. Gabriel Archer, Capt. William West, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, and Robert Hunt. The four men were influential members of the colony. Hunt was Jamestown's first pastor. Wainman was a knight and governing councilman. West was a high-ranking captain and an uncle to the first governor of Virginia. Archer was the colony's first secretary, and major critic of John Smith, according to World.
In the same church where Pocahontas was married to Englishman John Rolfe, scientist uncovered the four burial sites, according to the Guardian. This church was in the center of historic Fort James, a fort that was thought to have been lost until it was rediscovered in 1994, according to World.
In 2010, archeologists first discovered the long-forgotten Fort James. November 2013 saw the initial excavation of these graves, only 30% of the skeletons identified. With forensic testing, along with historical and genealogical records, scientists were able to identify the remains inside the graves, according to History.
The Jamestown colony was the first permanent English colony founded in America. It was settled by 100 settlers in May 1607, 60 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. The Jamestown colony also saw the establishment of the first Protestant church in the New World, according to History.
