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Jamestown, Virginia, is a historically significant location, being the site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Established in 1607, it is deeply rooted in American history. The origins of the United States trace back to Jamestown, where the first English-speaking settlers began their journey in the New World. Today, many families proudly claim their lineage as direct descendants of these early settlers, a testament to national pride.
But Jamestown also hides a darker side. With centuries of history, it’s no wonder that eerie and strange occurrences took place. In this article, we’ll delve into ten of the most unsettling and chilling finds ever discovered at the Jamestown Colony. Some of these discoveries shocked archaeologists, revealing disturbing remnants of lives lived over 400 years ago. Keep reading if you’re brave enough to uncover the spine-chilling truths.
10. A Horrific Murder
One of the most chilling discoveries at Jamestown was that of a 14- or 15-year-old boy, whose remains were found with an Indian arrowhead embedded in his left leg bone. This led experts to conclude that the young boy had been murdered during a violent conflict or battle.
Conflicts between the English settlers and the Powhatan tribe were unfortunately a common occurrence. What makes this particular incident so tragic—and unsettling—is the fact that the boy's burial almost certainly occurred very soon after the Europeans' arrival in 1607. Some experts believe he may have been killed within days of the settlers first landing.
Experts suspect this rapid burial because of the boy’s hurried interment. The position of his body and the shallow dirt covering him, which lacked any European burial markers or memorials, suggest that the settlers felt compelled to bury him swiftly after his death and their arrival.
The settlers were likely so traumatized by the attack, skirmish, or battle that they couldn’t afford the time to grieve properly. Both Captain John Smith and Captain Gabriel Archer mentioned the murder of a young boy. Tragically, however, the boy’s name, identity, and detailed story will remain lost to history.
9. Honored with Military Rites
In addition to the young boy’s tragic fate, four early settlers of Jamestown were laid to rest with full military honors in a grave discovered more than 400 years later. The grave, located inside the old church, was in such a significant spot within the sanctuary that archaeologists quickly deduced the men buried there must have been of great importance. DNA testing on the remains confirmed that the men were indeed notable figures.
The first three individuals buried with full honors were Captain Gabriel Archer, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, and Reverend Robert Hunt. However, it was the fourth burial that still evokes sorrow. Captain William West, only 24 years old at the time of his death, was the fourth to be interred. He was killed in yet another skirmish with the Powhatan in 1610.
His burial clearly reflected his significance to the colonists. He was laid to rest wearing an ornate, fringed military sash. While much of it had deteriorated over four centuries, the remaining fragments suggested that it was likely a luxurious silk garment with silver fringe and decorative spangles. His burial in such a manner indicated his critical importance to the colony. The sight of his death in battle must have been especially hard for the few, struggling settlers who were trying to establish themselves in the New World.
8. The Mysterious Knight’s Tomb
One of the most puzzling graves uncovered at Jamestown belonged to a knight. Yes, you read that correctly. While the colony was founded not long after the end of the Middle Ages, the discovery of a knight's tomb was truly unexpected. The identity of the knight remains a mystery. Lord de la Warr, the namesake of Delaware, held the title of knight, but this was not his tomb. Historians are certain of that, but beyond this, little is known.
Sir George Yeardley, another knight, may be the person buried in this tomb. Yeardley, who became the colony's governor, even made a difficult return trip to England to receive his knighthood. Written records suggest his family intended for him to be buried in a black marble tomb, hoping to have his official crest affixed to it. However, there is no crest present today, which raises questions: either it was lost, stolen, or the knight buried here was not Sir George after all.
The most frustrating—and unsettling—aspect of this mystery is that we may never truly know the identity of the person buried there, beyond vague assumptions. It could very well be Sir George Yeardley, offering a simple resolution to the enigma. But what if it’s not? What if there was another knight in Jamestown, someone whose existence we have no record of? It’s astonishing how modern DNA testing can confirm the identities of individuals buried centuries ago, yet there are still many unknowns when it comes to other ancient burials just across town.
7. A Shocking Family Scandal
As archaeologists continued their investigations into the remains at Jamestown, they unearthed a truly disgraceful secret: an incestuous family scandal involving an illegitimate child. This situation revolved around Thomas West, who took charge of Jamestown three years after the settlers' arrival in 1610.
West was accompanied by three brothers and several other male relatives. Thanks to DNA evidence from skeletons found in unmarked graves at Jamestown’s church, it was revealed that at least two of the bodies were related to West, sharing a maternal lineage. This discovery raised questions and led investigators to dig deeper.
Further research uncovered documents revealing that one of the men—Captain William West—was actually Thomas's illegitimate son. Evidence confirmed that William’s mother was Thomas's aunt, Elizabeth. Yes, you read that correctly. Though William was regarded as part of a high-status family in England, the scandal of his birth would have been so shameful that it could very well have prompted the West family to leave the Old World and settle in Jamestown.
Captain William West went on to gain significant respect in Jamestown. His father, who led the colony for a time, was undoubtedly one of the most influential and powerful men in the New World at the turn of the 17th century. However, the lingering whispers about William's questionable parentage likely led the West family to keep this shameful secret hidden for the remainder of their lives. Such unsettling stories emerge even from the most revered grounds.
6. A Special Ring Linked to Shakespeare
One of the most remarkable and enigmatic discoveries in Jamestown was a brass signet ring. Adorned with an eagle with outstretched wings, the ring symbolized the influential Strachey family of England. William Strachey, an early settler of Jamestown, was highly educated and well-connected, even counting himself among the literary circle of William Shakespeare during his early years.
Strachey was among the passengers aboard the Sea Venture, a ship destined for Jamestown. Initially thought to have been lost at sea, the Sea Venture had actually been blown off course by a hurricane, eventually landing in Bermuda. After being repaired, it made its way—delayed but undeterred—to Jamestown.
While stranded in Bermuda, Strachey and his fellow passengers faced the terrifying Starving Time, one of the colony's most dire periods, where nearly all of the settlers perished. Although the Sea Venture had originally intended to return to England, the colonists, by then determined to try again, decided to remain in Jamestown for the long haul and continue their efforts at settlement.
Strachey remained in Jamestown for a time, attempting to make a success of the colony. However, he eventually returned to England. Once back home, he is said to have shared his New World adventures and the perilous journey aboard the Sea Venture with none other than William Shakespeare. It is rumored that Shakespeare used Strachey’s experiences as inspiration for his play The Tempest. Fascinating, right?
Here’s where things take a tragic turn: Strachey’s presumed ring was uncovered during an archaeological excavation of the original Jamestown site. However, Strachey lived for many years after his time in Jamestown, returning to England to live out the rest of his life. So, it appears that the Englishman lost his cherished ring—whether through theft, misplacement, or selling it for pennies—while in the New World. He never recovered it. At least not in this lifetime.
5. Bodies on Bodies
Shortly after the first settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607, the bodies began to accumulate—literally. Records from the Virginia Company show that the colonists were instructed to keep track of sickness, disease, and death, but away from the native populations. This meant all the deceased were to be buried within the fort itself, in Jamestown.
This was an unfamiliar practice for the English, who were not accustomed to living so close to burial sites. The situation soon spiraled out of control. In just a few months, the graveyard at Jamestown filled rapidly as death rates surged in the colony.
The earliest written accounts from John Smith himself reveal that more than 50 colonists perished between May and September of 1607. Several dozen more died in the following months. As the death toll mounted, the surviving colonists found it increasingly difficult to manage the bodies, forcing them to begin doubling up on graves.
In recent years, archaeologists excavating Jamestown have unearthed mass burial sites within the original fort. These sites have revealed that many of the graves contain the remains of multiple individuals.
While John Smith’s records mention 50 deaths in the early months, modern historians believe the true number was much higher. The mortality rate was so severe that the colonists were forced to pile the bodies into double graves, unable to dig enough separate graves for each person. A truly grim reality.
4. Baby’s Shoes, Never Worn…
In an astonishing discovery, a few pairs of shoes have survived over 400 years since the founding of Jamestown. Tragically, one of those pairs belonged to a very young child. Made from goatskin leather, the shoes were found in remarkably good condition, suggesting they had barely been worn. Imagine: a child, eager to take their first steps in a new world, only to die before they could experience what life had to offer.
Beyond the obvious sorrow, the discovery of the baby’s shoes at a gravesite suggests that the child likely came from a family of means. Shoes were an extremely rare commodity in Jamestown, and it was common for sailors to steal items like shoes during the voyage to the colony.
Others would smuggle and hoard shoes, along with other essentials, for personal use. As a result, shoes became a symbol of status. The fact that a child was buried in such shoes points to the possibility that they came from a family of high status, with high hopes for a future that was never realized.
3. The World Beyond
A variety of goods from across the globe found their way to Jamestown during the colony’s first decade. Among the first arrivals were Polish glassblowers and German brass counterweights. Despite the absence of Polish or German immigrants in the New World, the sheer amount of goods brought over by the colonists and later sailors shows how interconnected the world already was in the early 17th century.
One particularly fascinating and mysterious artifact is a lion-shaped counterweight from Germany, dating back to the earliest days of the 1600s. Weighing just under 2 ounces (57 grams), it was made in Nuremberg. And it wasn’t the only item from Nuremberg discovered at Jamestown during later archaeological excavations.
Also discovered among the remnants of the old colony, after more than 400 years, was a trumpet mouthpiece dating back to the early 17th century. Nuremberg, at the time, was the center of such craftsmanship, so the mouthpiece must have originated there. But the question remains: why did this item, along with the lion-shaped counterweight, end up in Jamestown? Given the harsh conditions faced by the early settlers, it’s puzzling how these items found their way into the New World.
It’s clear that someone was interested in playing the trumpet even while the world around them was falling apart. Unfortunately, we may never know who they were, what drove them, or how they came to be part of the nearly disastrous English experiment in the New World that was the Jamestown settlement.
2. A Cannibalized Skull
If these discoveries weren’t unsettling enough, consider the cannibalized skull that was uncovered among the burial remains. The skull of an unidentified person showed distinct cut marks on the bones, indicating that the flesh had been removed for consumption—yes, evidence of cannibalism. This is especially disturbing because it’s highly likely that the settlers of Jamestown resorted to cannibalism during one of their darkest periods.
This grim period, known to archaeologists as the 'Starving Time,' occurred shortly after the colonists settled at Jamestown in 1607. During this time, famine was relentless, and the population of the colony dwindled from 500 to about 60. The term 'Starving Time' couldn’t be more literal, as many perished simply due to a lack of food. The severity of the situation almost certainly led the colonists to engage in cannibalism just to survive.
In a deeply unsettling twist, archaeologists later named the cannibalized skull 'Jane.' This is because the skull, along with the bones found buried nearby, belonged to a teenage girl who would have been around 14 years old at the time of her death. However, it’s unclear whether Jane was murdered specifically for consumption, or if she died from starvation or disease, only to be dismembered and cooked posthumously.
But if we’re diving into the morbid details, let’s go even darker. During the Starving Time, one Jamestown settler is rumored to have butchered his pregnant wife, preserved her body with salt, and then removed the unborn child from her womb, tossing it into the James River. He then allegedly ate his wife repeatedly. Could it have been Jane who was the unfortunate victim in this grisly tale?
1. The Most Profound Grave
The most significant grave ever uncovered in Jamestown belonged to four prominent early settlers. Among them was Gabriel Archer, a young yet remarkably ambitious man who had been part of the first voyage to Virginia and had a long-standing feud with Captain John Smith.
What makes this discovery even more fascinating is the presence of a Catholic reliquary in Archer’s grave. Despite Jamestown being largely a Protestant colony, Archer had surprisingly brought Catholic relics with him to the New World. Even more unsettling, modern CT scan technology revealed something even darker: fragments of bones were found inside that small Catholic box.
Let's take a quick step back in time: when Jamestown was founded in 1607, England was staunchly Protestant. The English felt a strong duty to spread their Protestant faith to the New World, especially as Spain, a deeply Catholic nation, was doing the same. As a result, the English Protestants made their way into Jamestown.
But why did Archer have a Catholic reliquary with him? That remains a mystery. Could it mean that he was secretly (or openly) a Catholic? Could he have been engaging in trade with the Spanish? And what about the bone fragments in the reliquary—were they Archer’s, or did they belong to someone else entirely?
