Knight's tombstone returns to Jamestown's church

After undergoing several years of conservation the Knight's tombstone returned to the recently excavated 1617 church. Monuments conservator Jonathan Appell, cleverly finds a way to put the stone back in a space created for it.
It is believed that the stone had been associated with Sir George Yeardley, who had served as one of Jamestown's early governors. Unfortunately, a brass epitaph that once held the individual's identity had long since been lost to history.
• Mysterious Knight's To...

[@marybliefnick6624]

Sir George Yeadley is my 10th great grandfather! This is very exciting for me to see!

[@puppy2haley]

Great job to you all!! This is our heritage. You all are so talented! Thank you!!

[@klaus3794]

Extremely well done - congratulation to the team and especially to Mr. Appel who looks so in love with his job!

[@QueenBee-gx4rp]

Simply amazing and fascinating! Thank you for a job so well done that we can add to our heritage.

[@dougc.3497]

All of those involved should be very proud of the fantastic job you did to preserve and display this feature. Thank you all for your efforts to maintain and help all Americans to understand and appreciate this wonderful place!

[@artist6135]

Great job!!!! Can’t wait for the final results!!! Thank you for saving and preserving history!

[@marymathis9299]

Thank you, Jonathan, for all your hard work on that. Wow!! That’s truly amazing - not a first statement I know, but it’s heartfelt! Hope to see it up close one day! Love seeing all the discoveries!

[@gwaine]

As others have said love the ice idea. That's why you hire folks with experience.

[@johnellis7445]

Thank you very much for showing a degree of respect and dignity for this fallen Knight from long ago .He is at rest now on holy ground . America you have your first Knight. God bless America and God save the Queen.

[@johnbaldock6353]

The ice trick was Ingenuous! Well Done.

[@johngray7006]

I love History..just love it!! I have been glued watching these videos...Thank you for preserving the items you find..

[@mrpaulgrimm6129]

Now the Knight is chilling

[@MommyDontSeeMe]

Please tell me this gentleman read the Henry Reed series when he was a kid…the story where Henry solves the problem of settling a swimming pool into a hole by setting it on blocks of ice came quite vividly to mind when I watched this!

[@jrg7951]

If you love colonial American history, Jamestown, VA is a must see, Williamsburg and Yorktown Battlefield are also close by.

[@Headstoneman]

This is absolutely amazing! Great work!

[@charlesmassey109]

I know this sounds elementary, but what happened to the person buried beneath it?

[@alanatolstad4824]

I wondered that same thing.

[@blackietotheend]

Prob nothing left after so long, in the photos from the video I seen, it was outside prior to being moved.

[@ownerppddesign1957]

Nice work and very imaginative approach. On a side note It looks very similar to a tombstone in St Mary's Church Baldock, Hertfordshire. England, which dates back to almost the same time.

[@Rubin_Schmidt]

Would be better to check to check Roslyn Chapel, the earliest knights in the Colony were Scottish. !!!

[@hetrodoxly1203]

@@Rubin_Schmidt Do you have a link to this?

[@Rubin_Schmidt]

​@@hetrodoxly1203 Sir James Gunn was buried in Westport, Massachusetts and Lord of the Isles, Sir Henry Sinclair who was murdered on his return in around 1400. The only link I've got, I'm afraid , is I'm a Gunn and live in Jamestown, Scotland. !!!

[@hetrodoxly1203]

@@Rubin_Schmidt Henry Sinclair signed a charter from King Robert III in January 1404. It is supposed that he died shortly after that although his son did not take the title until 1412. Therefore, he died somewhere between 1404 and 1412, killed in an attack on Orkney, possibly by English seamen.

[@Rubin_Schmidt]

@@hetrodoxly1203 Thanks for the information. !!!

[@AuntieM78]

What happened to the body under the stone?

[@fernandezjoey]

I am so thankful that I met J. Appell.

[@edwardroche2480]

Remembering our history is very important progress. Learn it and go on. I'm glad somebody takes the time to renew and rebuild parts of our past when most of the world seems content to destroy it and forget it.

[@jmsiii4751]

Great work!

[@vivian2822]

Awesome. Thank you

[@davidmc1489]

Love this stuff....between jamestowne and colonial williamsburg...both amazing places Wish they would have put metal back in it too...

[@justdoingitjim7095]

The protective wax he refers to is Micro-Crystalline Wax. It's refined waxes blended to a formula used by the British Museum and restoration specialists internationally to revive and protect valuable furniture, leather, paintings, metals, marble, ivory and many other surfaces both housed and exposed to weather. It freshens colours and imparts a soft sheen. I used it to protect old Roman coins that I had cleaned and researched for my collection. If you have something valuable that could use that extra protection, it is sold on Ebay, Amazon and other places.

[@irajayrosen4792]

Ice! What a brilliant idea 💡!

[@tinawall952]

I believe that it could be a Knights Templar.

[@graysonjames171]

the order of the templar knights ended in 1312 over 300 years that this stone was believed to be made in

[@pedenmk]

I would love volunteering on projects like this.

[@Jeepjones85]

Very cool video, I watched two different videos and never found out who was buried and when, still very interesting

[@AngelCatBaby]

Awesome recovery....God bless

[@patriley5136]

Give him a name !

[@alanconnors8881]

Beautiful

[@kvdgadj]

What the cost and what the name of the knight?

[@thedynastycontinues945]

Just a quick question.... Im recently new to the whole Jamestown thing so forgive me if this question seems unintelligent.... but why did Jamestown succeed and Roanoke didnt? Thanks in advance.

[@davidevans3227]

i saw short video about the lifting of this slab, was there anything underneath?

[@garylancaster2031]

Only one comment from me. This guy is damn good!

[@davidprocter3578]

Was anyone able to provide a date for this stone during it's restoration? I am no expert but I know stones of this type were still being installed in English church's almost to the end of Victoria's reign.

[@EvansvilleJill]

30 bags of ice! Genius!

[@markdodd9777]

What was the protective coating that was put on?

[@bobw222]

Did that tombstone have metal embellishments on the face of it originally? It looks like there a lot of holes in the reset areas on the stone that might have been filled with lead or pitch to hold in a metal plate.

[@gregfougere7447]

The brass was not replaced on the knights effigy. How come?

[@johnstewart8849]

So...is that how the Egyptians raised obelisks.....melting ice.? Not sure that hypothesis will hold water....

[@starriderkittykat9064]

🕳️💦

[@metrocust424]

Late on this case ?? Did they find out what or who was there when they started digging.before they Put the tomb back.and how old is it. Mrs P

[@concernedcitizen780]

Who’s grave was it? Do you have a name?

[@metalheadgamer6666]

The name is George Yeardley.

[@blewis66112]

Where is the guy's remains?

[@johnsebar7807]

why were they calling a Knights tombstone?

[@angelicaluce3230]

Did anyone discover the 'KNIGHT" -- or HIS NAME. -- ANYTHING?

[@MrBook123456]

good video

[@klaus3794]

I almost forgot:Hi Mary Anna!

[@JiveDadson]

Where are the remains?

[@rlbadger1698]

You could do this for a living. ; )

[@kcmullins6179]

Why even bother it?? As in removing it anyway??.. should have left it alone tbh... it's been there for a long time , it's never been broken before , now it was. The grave was destroyed and disturbed when it shouldn't have. And I get it we wanna save n protect ancient and historical sites. But think about it like this.... in I dunno 500 1,000 yrs from now... you had this amazing and beautiful grave constructed. Or had this amazing tombstone and slab ect and ppl from the future come n dig it up , dig you up , move you , move your spot you chose or your wife loved ones did... how you gonna feel about it?... how you feel about it now?... not so happy right... it easily could have been left alone n just cleaned ect where it was without it being removed and put on display..... it's disrespectful to him the knight the guy that is buried there... js... guys yall kno better than this...

[@lordefred6143]

thou.hast risen no man greater then John the baptist his last words jesus christ of nazareth son of god son of man kyrie elesion and most certainly of the glorious and bright morning star

[@dannymack1196]

Lol look at that little baby looking up at the camera on the bottom left @ 2:37

[@lordefred6143]

God sendeth Jonathan God calleth upon Jonathan house of eleazar new haven Aaron son of eleazar or eleazar son of aaron same thing

[@geoffreylee5199]

Me, I, I, I, should be we, we, we.

[@isaachughes8130]

These guys ruined so much of the history of this site in "restoring" it.Terrible.

[@klaus3794]

?????