St. Mary's City, Maryland -
Lead Coffins

Back in 1992, Historic St. Mary's City conducted an investigation of three lead coffins buried within the remains of a 1660s chapel. The coffins were opened one by one, smallest to the largest, but the best information came from the woman found in the middle coffin. An exhibit at the museum includes a reconstruction of the woman's face (Anne Wolseley Calvert) done from her skull. The outdoor museum is located in Southern Maryland (land of the fiddle and the flask, or at least a lot of crabs and 10-ounce Budweisers), near where the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River come together. [Karin Stanford, 06/30/1997]