Speaking of word salads…Sometimes we simply have to shake our heads in wonder.
A number of media folks published a rash of recent news articles about the oldest known “English tombstone” found in Jamestown, Virginia. This standing stone is somewhat unique. Archaeologists discovered that the carved black knight’s tombstone was not of North American origin.
The marker was likely for Sir George Yeardley, the Governor of Viginia who died in 1627. The stone was probably quarried in Belgum, carved and embossed with brass in London, and the shipped to Jamestown in a ship as ballast.
The Hysterical, Historical Tale of the Stone
According to the learned few this special stone represents an English “status symbol” and is seen elsewhere in the Chesapeake. The stone also helps to establish the “complex nature” of the trade routes at the time. Huh?
Can you hear me laughing?
It never occurred to our modern class warriors that the stone represents something else altogether different.
The early colonial governor was simply a well-prepared man. At the time, to be buried in a swamp, probably in an unmarked grave, was a fate that a God-fearing man took seriously. The scenario was certainly very likely. The governor knew in advance that his assignment to the Jamestown colony was most likely a death sentence.
We can hazard to guess the stone arrived with the man as part of his personal baggage. The date of his demise on the stone to be chiseled later. One might guess that perhaps the stone was even paid for by the King of England himself.
Would the King do that?
If so, was the valuable black stone an honor, a warning, or a bit of personal bling?
We can also safely say for a fact that Sir George may have been the first, but he certainly wasn’t the last.
“Come on, man?”
See the original study.
The microfossils identification parts are interesting.
Sourcing the Early Colonial Knight's Black 'Marble' Tombstone at Jamestown, Virginia, USA
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