DNA Sought to ID Jamestown Skeleton

“JAMESTOWN, Va. – The Church of England has agreed to allow researchers using radar to look beneath two churches for remains that could determine whether a skeleton found at Jamestown is that of one of the colony’s founders, scientists said Monday.



Scientists who excavated the site of a 400-year-old fort at Jamestown want to know whether a skeleton discovered there in 2003 is that of Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, captain of one of the three ships that carried settlers from England.

To do so, they need to find the graves of Gosnold’s sister and niece, who were buried in two churches in Suffolk, England, and conduct DNA analysis. The Church of England, which owns the sites, has agreed to allow a ground-radar survey of the graves.”