Marking territory by explorers to claim it for their country is an ancient custom dating from Roman times, and it was followed by Europeans in the Americas. Smith continued this practice by cutting crosses into trees and in a few locations, affixing brass crosses to create permanent signs of their presence, and to reinforce English land claims. None of these crosses has ever been found, but we assume that a prominent tree was selected, a flat area created with an adze or other tool, and the metal cross nailed securely to it. Given the high value of copper and brass to Chesapeake Indians, it is unlikely that these metal crosses survived for many years. They were probably removed and cut up into pieces that were more useful to the native inhabitants.