The remains of two men have been found under the floorboards of an 18th century St. George's church.

Mystery surrounds the skeletal remains which appear to have been buried in haste, but archaeologists believe at least one man was the victim of yellow fever.

He is thought to be Sir Jacob Wheate — a British Navy captain and commander of HMS Cerberus — now a dive site also known as the 'Musket Ball Wreck'. The 5th Rate 32 gun ship was launched in 1779 but struck rocks in Castle Harbour and sank in 1783.

A team of archaeologists at St. Peter's Church have found a coffin plate next to the corpse, inscribed with Sir Jacob's name and the words 'Commander of his Majesty's ship Cerberus'. Historical records suggest Sir Jacob died in 1783 of yellow fever.

Archaeologist Brent Fortenberry said the team were invited to excavate the church by Reverend W. David Raths, but they never expected to find any human remains.

"Reverend Raths invited us here because the church is approaching its 400th anniversary and he wanted us to find new stories about the church through archaeology," said Mr. Fortenberry.

"We have also been looking for the original remains of the church. Our focus has been investigating under the floorboards and also recording the memorials in the churchyard."

The initial structure of St. Peter's Church was built from Bermuda cedar in 1612, but most of the present stone structure dates back to 1713. The churchyard has two graveyards — one for black slaves, the other for white parishioners.

The team have been excavating underneath the northern part of the church and also the yards of two neighbouring houses — Ming House and Whitehall, in a five-week project funded by the Bank of Bermuda Foundation in partnership with the Bermuda National Trust.

Their findings will be used to create a 3D model of the church, which is believed to be the oldest continually-used Anglican church in the Western hemisphere outside of the UK.

Mr. Fortenberry said the discovery of the human remains was "significant".

"Finding bodies underneath the floorboards, particularly in Bermuda, is unusual. It is an amazing opportunity to uncover the history of this church like this," he said.

"We are really excited to discover these remains, as we never knew they were there. There have been rumours of possible burials under the floorboards, but nothing like this, so it has forced us to re-examine what we know about the church."

Commenting on the possible remains of Sir Jacob, Mr. Fortenberry said: "What is really significant about this is the burial underneath the floorboards. There are no memorials, they just put him in the ground. We haven't uncovered a coffin, but it is likely to have rotted away."

A PhD student at Boston University, Mr. Fortenberry said the skeleton was found in a cut in the limestone underneath the aisle in front of the church pulpit. As to why the British Naval commander was buried there, Mr. Fortenberry said it raised many questions, but ruled out foul play due to Sir Jacob's "prominent" standing in the community.

"The mystery of why he was buried underneath the floorboards without any pomp and circumstance is the real mystery we are trying to find out," said the archaeologist.

"He should have had a more substantial burial, but we think they may have buried him quickly because he had yellow fever."

The other corpse has been discovered slightly to the south, on top of the limestone bedrock. Traces of a coffin and coffin nails have been found, plus small copper pins which suggest the man was wrapped in a shroud — the fibres of which will have disintegrated over the centuries.

"We don't know who this person is yet, and where he dates from, but our excavations will hopefully shed some light on this," said Mr. Fortenberry.

He added the team would examine the remains of both corpses, and it is hoped to re-intern Sir Jacob in the grounds of St. Peter's Church in a ceremony officiated by Rev. Raths.