WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Archaeologists uncovered remnants of three more 18th-century graves Tuesday in a continuing search for an alleged 17th-century vault some cultists claim contains clues to world peace.
'Just one revealed brass tacks and the outline of an actual coffin,' said Paul Parsons, administrative assistant at Bruton Parish Church, which is in Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area.
'They also discovered two others with no known remains intact, but they (the graves) are immediately on either side of the hole that is subject to the vault theory,' Parsons said.
The brass tacks would indicate that it was a burial for a distinguished person, he said.
Bruton Parish Church authorized the excavation to end speculation among New Age cultists that a vault containing the writings of philosopher Sir Francis Bacon was buried in the churchyard centuries ago.
Some theorists believe Bacon authored the plays of William Shakespeare and left cryptic messages that would lead 20th-century believers to uncover the secrets of a new world order.
Last year, a group of cultists from New Mexico engineered two unauthorized churchyard excavations in search of the vault and the writings.
Since the authorized digging began two weeks ago, archaeologists have uncovered a total of five graves in the 20-foot square area. They will not disturb the graves, Parsons said.
By the end of the week, archaeologists from Colonial Williamsburg expect to have scraped away all the soil that ever has been disturbed in the area, including that portion of a 1938 excavation undertaken by California mystic Marie Bauer Hall, who has circulated the vault theory for years.
Chief archaeologist Marley Brown III said it is highly unlikely that a large vault could have been buried under undisturbed soil in the 17th century.
Parsons said the Bruton Parish rector, the Rev. Richard May, will meet Wednesday with a College of William and Mary geologist who has agreed to undertake geo-technical tests of the area that he believes will determine once and for all whether a vault exists.
Geology Professor Gerald Johnson said he will place 15-foot probes at the bottom of the deepest hole left by the archaeologists, at levels lower than any graves.
He said the probes, about 2 inches in diameter and 15 feet long, also will provide useful information about ground water and layers of sediment deep underground.
'I question that there's a vault,' he said. 'But there's always a possibility that you will discover different things than you expect.'
The rector would likely decide next week whether to grant permission for such tests, Parsons said.
