Friday, 18 February
Darn; weather-wise, picked the wrong day again. After three weeks of putting in nearly as many overtime hours as regular hours at work, I decided to give myself a day off. The forecasters were calling for sunshine and temps in the low 70F range. Well, we got the temps —it was 73F (23C) in DC around 2:00p — and the sun did peek out for a while, but it was a mostly overcast, breezy day. Quite different from yesterday when we had beautiful blue skies, puffy white clouds, sunshine that bumped the temps into the 70F range, and no breeze whatsoever. Oh well, we didn’t let that stop us from enjoying ourselves.
Warning in advance; this is going to be a long post (yeah, I know — they all are), and it will likely only interest those who are intrigued by archaeology and forensic sciences.
Last March, we visited Historic St Mary’s City, Maryland’s colonial capital from 1634 to 1694. (Click here to read the story of our day.) While touring the living museum, we came across a mention of some lead coffins that had been found at the Brick Chapel. These coffins, we were told, were on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I made a mental note to check them out, but didn’t get around to going to the Written in Bone exhibit until today.
a holographic shape-shifter Welcomes visitors to
Written in Bone — Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake.
The exhibit page on the museum website sets the stage with the following:
Written in Bone examines history through 17th-century bone biographies, including those of colonists teetering on the edge of survival at Jamestown, Virginia, and those living in the wealthy and well-established settlement of St. Mary’s City, Maryland.
The forensic investigation of human skeletons provides intriguing information on people and events of America's past. No other inanimate objects make us feel the same passionate curiosity as the remains of once-living, breathing individuals like us. And nothing else can answer our questions in quite the same ways.
After watching the video on the exhibit page, I was armed with a better understanding of what awaited us, and had added to the list of displays to check out in addition to the lead coffins. (The exhibit area was rather dark, and most of the displays were behind glass. Not ideal for handheld photography, but I did my best. Most of the information presented below was gleaned from the signage at the exhibit.)
A male skull differs from a female skull — it is generally larger;
has larger brow ridges, with a sloping, less rounded forehead;
greater definition of muscle attachment areas on the back of the head;
larger mastoid processes (projections behind the ears); and A square
chin with an acute, more vertical angle of the jaw.
The first display at which we spent time was The First Fatality. It involves skeletal remains uncovered in 2005 inside the James Fort in Jamestown, Virginia. It turns out the body was that of a young boy who died during an Indian attack in 1607, a mere two weeks after the colonists landed on the island.
Eyewitness accounts of an event, and skeletal and forensic evidence
lead to an identification, albeit an unnamed one.
(note the red arrow pointing to an ARROWHEAD FOUND NEAR THE FEMUR;
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EMBEDDED IN THE LEG TISSUE.)
After studying the skeletal remains, scientists have concluded that a quick death might have been a blessing for this boy. It was determined that he broke a tooth before leaving England. As he didn’t receive any dental care, an infection developed in his jaw that would have eventually spread throughout his body. As the pus drained into his mouth, he would have had trouble eating and he would have experienced considerable pain. (For more information on this case, click here.)
Onto the second forensic case that caught our attention — The Body in the Basement. These remains were discovered in Leavy Neck, a small 17th-century farm in the Lost Town’s Project in Anne Arundel County (Maryland). The skeleton was found in a shallow hole in the storage cellar. The body was buried under a thick layer of soil, and the cellar was filled with household trash dating from 1663 to 1680.
The hidden circumstances of his burial and evidence in his bones
suggest abuse and wrongful death.
Historical records show that a family — consisting of a married couple, and their son and two daughters — settled on Leavy Neck in 1662. They had two indentured servants and they had come to the area to start a small plantation. Archaeological evidence indicates that the house was abandoned by the 1680s, so the burial of the body — likely one of the servants — had to have taken place before then. (For more information on this case, click here.)
Finally, the reason we were at the exhibit to begin with — The Lead Coffins. In the winter of 1990, three lead coffins were found under the imported-stone floor of the Brick Chapel in Historic St Mary’s City. The preferred burial site of the English of high social standing was under the floor of a church, rather than outside in the churchyard. The higher the person’s status, the closer to the altar was the grave.
Artist’s rendering of the chapel where the coffins were found.
(the images on the right are from the Project Lead Coffins website.)
The largest of the three coffins contained the poorly preserved, possibly embalmed remains of a male in his mid-50s, about 5’6” (1.65 m) tall, right-handed, with no evidence of heavy physical labor. Carbon-isotope testing indicated that he was English, but had lived in Maryland for several years. Pollen evidence in the coffin indicated a winter-death. It was determined that the remains likely were of Philip Calvert (the sixth son of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore), who came to America in 1657 to serve as chancellor and governor of Maryland.
After they were first found in 1990, the lead coffins were reburied
until a comprehensive investigation could be launched.
The second coffin contained the well-preserved remains of a woman strewn with rosemary sprigs (symbol of remembrance, also probably intended to mask odors). Silk ribbon was wrapped around her wrist bones, tying her hands together over the pelvis and securing her feet. There was evidence of linen shroud fibers and copper staining. Her burial in a lead coffin led to the surmise that she must have been a prominent member of the colony. Later, it was determined that she was Anne Wolseley Calvert, the first wife of Philip Calvert.
Skeletal remains of Anne Wolseley Calvert.
Despite her prestige, it was obvious from tests conducted that she had been in ill-health long before her death. A life of luxury carried health risks. The diets of wealthier colonists were tied to dental decay because of the larger amounts of sugar that they could afford. The crowns of her front, lower teeth (bottom right image in the collage) had been destroyed by decay. They were held in place by the tips of the roots. She had periodontal disease and was chewing on her root stubs. Her remaining front teeth showed wear patterns from cleaning. (For more information on this case, click here.)
[Collage created from time-lapse video at the exhibit]
The smallest of the coffins contained the remains of an infant buried later than the two other coffins. Considering Anne’s age, the child could not have been hers, but might have been the child of Philip’s second wife, Jane Sewell. Positive identification of the infant may someday be possible with DNA testing.
We could have easily spent more time at the exhibit, but the siren call of spring-like temperatures was too strong. We left after an hour and went for a stroll along the National Mall. No, I’m not referring to a shopping mall, but to the wide open space in the heart of DC that has the US Capitol at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the other end.
Google Maps image of the National Mall showing our area of focus today.
We had no specific destination in mind. We just wanted to enjoy the nice weather even though clouds were moving in by the minute and the breeze was gaining strength. We walked slowly, peeking into the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden along the way. When we neared the Capitol, we retraced our steps back along the opposite side of the Mall, found a bench, and sat down to do some people-watching.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t “get” most of the art in the Sculpture Garden, but here a few images anyway. Think of them as a change of pace from all the skeletons that I posted in the first part of this blog.
Spider — 1996, Louise Bourgeois
(with the National Archives Building on the left)
left: Puellae (Girls) — 1992, Magdalena Abakanowicz
Right: Typewriter Eraser, Scale X — 1999, Claes Oldenburg
The next part of our plans — dinner in DC — didn’t work out as expected. We had reservations at Ezme, a Turkish restaurant in Dupont Circle. We should have known better than to drive there on a Friday evening. Despite driving up and down the near (and not-so-near) side streets, no parking was to be found. So, we called to cancel our reservations and headed to Sweetwater Tavern, one of our favorite dining venues in our own neighborhood.
Thanks to Sweetwater’s call-ahead program, we were seated immediately. Instead of going with our tried-and-true favorites, we each ordered a Caesar Salad and split an order of beef and chicken fajitas. A great meal overall, although I found the salad to have a bitter aftertaste — too much garlic. We were good and skipped dessert in lieu of fresh fruit at home.
[collage of images from the website]
The weather is forecasted to turn colder for the weekend, so I’m glad we took this opportunity to be out and about today. Having a nice outing under our belt will make dealing with weekend chores a bit more palatable.
