Edited so as not to completely rip off the article...
Quote:
Were the English the first Europeans to discover Texas? If Dr. David Brown, chairman of the University of Houston anthropology department, is correct that 60 "black earth" graves accidently discovered when the City dug a utility trench northwest of downtown near the intersection of Girard and Elder between Buffalo and White Oak bayous, the answer is a resounding YES!
The Evidence (My words)
1. in 1563 Queen Elizabeth I ordered the London Common Council to enact legislation thought to improve burial practices. These regulations included: burial in a woolen shroud (rather than those made of linen or cotton) not in a coffin and that graves be refilled with "new mould" (fresh organic topsoil from gardens or the floor of a nearby forest). The visual effect of the new soil made the grave look darker that the surrounding earth, thus the name "black earth" graves.
2. the "black earth" graves remains were much older that the other bones excavated in the area from the 1840 Old City Cemetery that was located in the same area.
3. while taking corings in the area as part of the research, remains of a 10 foot wide by 10 foot deep moat-like trench ran approximately 200 feet along where Girard Street is located today. Along that "moat" at the east and west ends two triangular areas could have been cannon emplacements. British military regulations required such construction in English colonial areas of North America. In Charleston, South Carolina an almost identical English fort may be visited. It was constructed during the same period of English colonization.
4. old documents and maps have turned up indicating a previously unknown English colony of indeterminate size called Carolana existed in the Gulf Coast area. Settlers from Carolana came from Barbados. This "lost" colony existed from 1632 until 1657.
5. Texas A & M archeologists were doing some digging along nearby White Oak Bayou. They uncovered the remains of a buffalo they carbon dated to about 1645. The beast had been skinned but the meat was left in place. English hunters were known to shoot buffalo solely for its fur value. Indians would almost never have left the meat behind.
6. .two pottery shards that were excavated from one of the "black dirt" graves. They are blue-painted grey Rhenish stoneware from Germany that were produced for approximately 50 years during the 1600s and proved wildly popular with the English.
Amazing that something like this could go undiscovered for over 300 years. How different would Texas had been if this colony had flourished? Would it have made it or been ceded to the French or Spanish at some point? Fascinating stuff!