Courtesy of Jamestown Rediscovery/Preservation Virginia
The research team studied the unusual pattern of coffin nails from the graves and determined that Wainman and West were buried in uniquely styled anthropomorphic, or human-shaped, wooden coffins while Archer was buried in a hexagonal coffin. In July 2015, a team of scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Jamestown Rediscovery announced the identities of Rev. Robert Hunt, Capt. Gabriel Archer, Sir Ferdinando Wainman and Capt. William West, high-status leaders who helped shape the future of America during the initial phase of the Jamestown colony. (Image courtesy of Jamestown Rediscovery/Preservation Virginia)
