A new genetic study has uncovered a remarkable piece of Colonial American history buried quite literally beneath a 17th century chapel in Maryland. Researchers analysed the DNA of 49 people interred at St Mary's City between 1634 and 1730, revealing that two of Maryland's early colonial governors were buried there along with their families. Among the graves was also an 8 year old boy with majority African ancestry, laid to rest in a shroud and coffin alongside prominent English settlers, raising questions about whether he was enslaved or held a different status entirely. The findings, published this week, offer a rare genetic window into a settlement whose written records never fully explained who exactly ended up in its cemetery.
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