Archeologists have unearthed human remains of some of America's earliest colonial leaders in Jamestown, Virginia.
The four leaders were buried for over 400 years, dating back to 1608 near the altar of America's first Protestant Church. The men were thought to be Anglican ministers, and the church is the same church where Pocahontas famously wed John Rolfe to bring peace between the Powhatan Indians and colonists.
Quite mysteriously, a tiny silver box was discovered resting on Captain Gabriel Archer's coffin. Scientists believe it is, peculiarly, a container of bone fragments and holy water.
I haven't been this excited about a find since Emerson High School found 100-year-old drawings behind their new chalkboards.
The men identified were Rev. Robert Hunt, Jamestown's first Anglican minister; Capt. Gabriel Archer, a rival of colony leader John Smith; Sir Ferdinando Wainman, the first knight buried in America; and Capt. William West, who died battling the Powhatan Indians.
"What we have discovered here in the earliest English church in America are four of the first leaders of America," says historian James Horn.
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas in Virginia. It was established in 1607, during what scientists have said was the worst drought in 800 years.
Famine was rampant and, within a couple of years, nearly 80% of the population died of starvation.
Though it is so far removed from our lives today, Jamestown remains a pivotal part of American history. The United States could not exist without the settlers who took a chance on the New World.
See the excavation footage below, and SHARE if you think this is pretty fascinating.
