June 14, 2005
Scientists dig for DNA that may identify America's lost father
By Lewis Smith
A GRAVE believed to be that of a woman who died 370 years ago was
opened yesterday by archaeologists trying to identify the founding
father of America.
DNA from the remains of Elizabeth Tilney Gosnold is crucial to
identifying a body found two years ago at the site of the first
successful British settlement of North America.
Her brother, Bartholomew Gosnold, organised and finan- ced the venture
that led to three ships landing in Virginia in April 1607 to lay the
foundations of America.
In 2003, a body believed to be that of Bartholomew was unearthed at
the settlers’ fort in Jamestown, Virginia, but the only way of
confirming the identity is to match DNA with that of a close relative.
Archaeologists in Suffolk have located what they believe to be the
grave of his sister inside the 13th-century church in Shelley. The
results of the dig will form part of the 400th anniversary
celebrations in 2007 of the founding of America.
The tombstone was encased in an 18th-century brick floor beneath
Victorian tiling and yesterday the unmarked flagstone covering the
likely grave was lifted to allow scientists to reach Elizabeth’s
bones.
After lifting it a layer of sand and rubble was removed to reveal
marks in the earth indicating that two people had been buried at the
spot, one on top of the other.
The grave is thought to contain the remains of Elizabeth and those of
her husband, Thomas Tilney, but the work may uncover more bones as few
records of burials over the centuries in Shelley survive.
Once scientists have checked whether the bones match Elizabeth’s age
and gender a sample will be removed for DNA testing. It is the first
time that Anglican authorities have granted permission for a grave to
be opened in a British church for scientific research.
The team of US and British experts conducting the dig are “as
confident as we can be” that they will find Elizabeth’s remains, which
are expected to be well-preserved.
Elizabeth was buried on April 10, 1646, almost 30 years after her
brother’s death at the age of 36 in August, 1607, four months after he
arrived in America.
The Gosnolds came from a family of minor landed gentry from Otley,
Suffolk, where Batholomew planned the expedition to make his fortune.
Having set up the Virginia Company of London he captained the ship
Godspeed and sailed from Britain in December, 1606, with the Susan
Constant and the Discovery carrying more than 100 men and boys.
Matt Erskine, of the Virginia Governor’s Office, said at the church
yesterday: “It was an English-speaking capitalist venture and
Jamestown was the birthplace of modern America.
“Bartholomew Gosnold was such an important member of it and was one of
the six original governors of the colony. The Mayflower didn’t arrive
for another 13 years.”
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