Darnall's Chance Burial Vault

Darnall's Chance Burial Vault. . , This 18th century underground brick burial vault was discovered in 1987 during an archaeological survey of the rear yard. It contained the remains of nine unidentified individuals., Evidence suggests that the vault was built for James Wardrop, a wealthy Upper Marlborough merchants, who built the large brick dwelling house between 1741 and 1742. The only archival reference to the vault is a 1788 deed which made mention of "… the small square ground in the garden which covers the family vault to which vault … heirs are to have from time to time hereafter free access." The deed does not mention who is interred in the vault, only that it is the "family vault.", In 1990, an archaeological excavation of the vault was conducted in order to gather information for its future restoration and interpretation. During the excavation, it was discovered that the interior of the vault was completely filled with the 18th and 19th century household trash and building debris. The trash is thought to have originated from a nearby kitchen midden (trash pit) and was dumped into the vault through two openings in the roof., Forensic scientists from the Smithsonian Institution assisted in the recovery of the human remains found on the vault floor. The skeletal remains were then transferred to the Museum of Natural History for study and analysis. The restoration of the roof, steps and sub-crypt were completed in 2002 and the remains were re-interred in 2004., [Captions:] , Thousands of 18th and 19th century household and personal artifacts were recovered from the burial vault. Examples include Pearlware sugar bowl (1790-1810), green shell-edged Pearlware plate (1800-1830), delft jar lid (mid-1700s), bone toothbrushes (late 1700s), white salt-glazed Earthenware (mid-1700s), and food remains (oyster shells, pigs and fowl bones)., Diagram of the Vault , The interior of the vault is eleven feet wide by seventeen feet long and eight feet high and is accessed by a stairway that is covered by modern wooden doors., Photo of East View of Vault Interior , Interred in the vault are nine Caucasians including one adult male, two adult females, two children and four infants (under the age of one-year). Stable isotope analysis of the skeletal remains of the five oldest individuals determined that they were not immigrants, but native-born Americans. The presence of numerous cavities and slight arthritis suggest that they lived a sedentary lifestyle featuring a sugar rich diet and light workload., Lettice Lee Wardrop (ca. 1726-1776) , Mitochondrial DNA analysis and historical research confirm that the oldest adult female is 50-year-old Lettice Lee Wardrop, the wife of James Wardrop. Her sister, Elizabeth Lee, has been identified as the other adult female (20-22 years old). Portrait of Lettice Lee Wardrop courtesy of The Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia., Hancock Lee (ca. 1728-1759) , A 30-year-old adult male identified as Hancock Lee, Lettice Lee Wardrop's brother, was interred in a wooden coffin and then buried in the brick sub-crypt. The remaining individuals were also interred in wooden coffins and placed on bricks that rested on the clay floor., 1788 deed in which Alice Hawkins and Mary Williams, Lettice Lee Wardrop's daughters from her second marriage to Dr. Adam Thompson, sell the property, except "the family vault."