<h1 style="margin-bottom: 0em"><SPAN name="one"></SPAN> <span class="part">Part One</span> Exploration: The Ground Yields Many Things </h1>
<div class="part-author">By <span class="author">John L. Cotter</span></div>
<div class="part-author-position">Supervising Archeologist, Colonial National Historical Park</div>
<div class="epigraph">“As in the arts and sciences the first invention is of more consequence
than all the improvements afterward, so in kingdoms, the first
foundation, or plantation, is of more noble dignity and merit than all
that followeth.”
<div class="epigraph-attrib">—Lord Bacon</div>
</div>
<p class="dropcap">
<span class="dropcap">I</span><span class="first-phrase">n the summer</span> of 1934 a group of archeologists set to work to explore
the site of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown Island,
Va. For the next 22 years the National Park Service strove—with time
out for wars and intervals between financial allotments—to wrest from
the soil of Jamestown the physical evidence of 17th-century life. The
job is not yet complete. Only 24 out of 60 acres estimated to comprise
“James Citty” have been explored; yet a significant amount of
information has been revealed by trowel and whiskbroom and careful
recording.</p>
<p>By 1956 a total of 140 structures—brick houses, frame houses with brick
footings, outbuildings, workshops, wells, kilns, and even an ice storage
pit—had been recorded. To help unravel the mystery of landholdings
(sometimes marked by ditches), 96 ditches of all kinds were located, and
hundreds of miscellaneous features from post holes to brick walls were
uncovered. Refuse pits were explored meticulously, since before the dawn
of history man has left his story in the objects he discarded.</p>
<p>When archeology at Jamestown is mentioned, the question is often asked,
why was it necessary to treat so famous a historic site as an
archeological problem at all? Isn’t the story finished with the accounts
of John Smith’s adventures, the romance of John Rolfe and Pocahontas,
the “starving time,” the Indian massacre of 1622, Nathaniel Bacon’s
rebellion against Governor Berkeley, and the establishment of the first
legislative assembly?</p>
<p>The archeologist’s answer is that the real drama of daily life of the
settlers—the life they knew 24 hours a day—is locked in the unwritten
history beneath humus and tangled vegetation of the island. Here a brass
thimble from the ruins of a cottage still retains a pellet of paper to
keep it on a tiny finger that wore it 300 years ago. A bent halberd in
an abandoned well, a discarded sword, and a piece of armor tell again
the passing of terror of the unknown, after the Indians retreated
forever into the distant hills and forests. Rust-eaten axes, wedges,
mattocks, and saws recall the struggle to clear a wilderness. The simple
essentials of life in the first desperate years have largely vanished
with traces of the first fort and its frame buildings. But in later
houses the evidence of Venetian glass, Dutch and English delftware,
pewter, and silver eating utensils, and other comforts and little
luxuries tell of new-found security and the beginning of wealth. In all,
a half-million individual artifacts at the Jamestown museum represent
the largest collection from any 17th-century colonial site in North
America.</p>
<p>But archeologists have found more than objects at Jamestown. They sought
to unravel the mystery of that part of the first settlement which
disappeared beneath the eroding current of the James River during the
past 300 years. It has always been known that the island in the 17th
century was connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus extending to
Glasshouse Point, where a glassmaking venture took place in 1608. Over
this isthmus the “Greate Road” ran, and its traces have been discovered
on the island as far as the brick church tower. As the isthmus
disappeared at the close of the 17th century, the river continued to
erode the island headward and build it up at its downstream end, so that
the western and southern shores where the first settlement had been
built, were partly destroyed. Thus, the first fort site of 1607, of
which no trace has been found on land, is thought to have been eaten
away, together with the old powder magazine and much early 17th-century
property fronting on the river.</p>
<p>In a series of extensive tests for any possible trace of the 1607 fort
still remaining on land, several incidental discoveries of importance
were made. One was an Indian occupation site beneath a layer of early
17th-century humus, which, in turn, was covered by the earthen rampart
of a Confederate fort of 1861. This location is marked today by a
permanent “in-place” exhibit on the shore near the old church tower.
Here, in a cut-away earth section revealing soil zones from the present
to the undisturbed clay, evidence of 350 years of history fades away
into prehistory.</p>
<p>Within the enclosure of this same Confederate fort was found a
miraculously preserved pocket of 17th-century debris marking the site of
the earliest known armorer’s forge in British America.</p>
<p>Just beyond, upriver, lie ruins of the Ludwell House and the Third and
Fourth Statehouses. In 1900-01, Col. Samuel H. Yonge, a U.S. Army
Engineer and a keen student of Jamestown history, uncovered and capped
these foundations after building the original seawall. A strange
discovery was made here in 1955 while the foundations were being
examined by archeologists for measured drawings. Tests showed that no
less than 70 human burials lay beneath the statehouse walls, and an
estimated 200 more remain undisturbed beneath the remaining structures
or have been lost in the James River. Here may be the earliest cemetery
yet revealed at Jamestown—one so old that it was forgotten by the
1660’s when the Third Statehouse was erected. It is, indeed, quite
possible that these burials, some hastily interred without coffins,
could date from the “starving time” of 1609-10, when the settlers strove
to dispose of their dead without disclosing their desperate condition to
the Indians.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box005"><SPAN href="images/005.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/005s.jpg" title="Jamestown exploration trenches of 1955 from the air. Landmarks are the “old cypress” in the river, upper left, the tercentenary monument, and the standing ruin of the 18th-century Ambler house." alt="[Illustration: Jamestown exploration trenches of 1955 from the air. Landmarks are the “old cypress” in the river, upper left, the tercentenary monument, and the standing ruin of the 18th-century Ambler house.]" width-obs="538" height-obs="630" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Jamestown exploration trenches of 1955 from the air. Landmarks are the “old cypress” in the river, upper left, the tercentenary monument, and the standing ruin of the 18th-century Ambler house.</div>
</div>
<p>The highlight of archeological discoveries at Jamestown is undoubtedly
the long-forgotten buildings themselves, ranging from mansions to simple
cottages. Since no accurate map of 17th-century “James Citty” is known
to survive, and as only a few land tracts, often difficult to adjust to
the ground, have come down to us, archeologists found that the best way
to discover evidence was to cast a network of exploratory trenches over
the area of habitation.</p>
<p>During its whole century of existence, the settlement was never an
integrated town. The first frame houses quickly rotted away or succumbed
to frequent fires. Brick buildings were soon erected, but probably not
twoscore ever stood at one time during the 17th century.</p>
<p>Bearing in mind that the massive church tower is the only 17th-century
structure remaining above ground today, and the only building whose
identity was therefore never lost, you will find only one other
identified with positive assurance—the Ludwell House—Third and Fourth
Statehouses row. The remaining 140 structures so far discovered by
excavating have no clear-cut identity with their owners. To complicate
matters more, bricks from many burned or dismantled houses were salvaged
for reuse, sometimes leaving only vague soil-shadows for the
archeologist to ponder. From artifacts associated with foundation
traces, relative datings and, usually, the use of the structure can be
deduced from physical evidence. Unless a contemporaneous map is someday
found, we shall know little more than this about the houses at Jamestown
except for the testimony of assorted hardware, ceramics, glassware,
metalware, and other imperishable reminders of 17-century arts and
crafts.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="churches"></SPAN>Churches</h2>
<p>The first church service at Jamestown was held under a piece of
sailcloth in May 1607. The first frame church, constructed within the
palisades, burned with the entire first fort in January 1608, and was
eventually replaced by another frame structure after the fort was
rebuilt. The exact date of the first church to stand on a brick
foundation is uncertain, possibly 1639. Brick foundation traces,
uncovered in 1901 by John Tyler, Jr., a civil engineer who volunteered
his services for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities, lie behind the free-standing brick church tower which
remains the only standing ruin today. The modern brick structure and
roof enclose and protect the footing evidence of the walls of two
separate churches and a tile chancel flooring. Indication of fire among
these foundations was noted by Tyler.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box006"><SPAN href="images/006.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/006s.jpg" title="A mansion structure or public building dating from the second quarter of the 17th century. Rebuilt once and burned about the time of Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676." alt="[Illustration: A mansion structure or public building dating from the second quarter of the 17th century. Rebuilt once and burned about the time of Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676.]" width-obs="440" height-obs="296" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A mansion structure or public building dating from the second quarter of the 17th century. Rebuilt once and burned about the time of Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="mansions"></SPAN>Mansions</h2>
<p>Despite official urgings that they build substantial town houses on
Jamestown Island, the first successful planters often preferred to build
on their holdings away from the capitol, once the Indian menace had
passed. Only 2 houses at Jamestown, designed for single occupancy, have
over 900 square feet of foundation area.</p>
<p>One was either a stately residence or a public building (area 1,350
square feet) located near Pitch and Tar Swamp, just east of the
Jamestown Visitor Center. Archeological evidence indicates that this
structure was first completed before the middle of the 17th century. It
was later reconstructed and enlarged about the beginning of the last
quarter, possibly during Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676. Unmistakably, it
burned.</p>
<p>The second structure was a smaller (1,200 square feet), but imposing,
house located near the present shoreline, considerably downriver. One of
the features of this second mansion was a basement in the center of
which was sunk a square, brick-lined recess, 3.3 feet on a side and 2.7
feet deep. Among the many wine bottle fragments in this recess were 3
bottle seals—1 with “WW” and 2 with “FN” stamped on them. Whether or
not this mansion can be associated with Sir Francis Nicholson, the last
governor resident at Jamestown (who moved the capital to Williamsburg),
we do not know. Artifacts found in the refuse indicate this house was
dismantled, not burned, shortly before or after the turn of the 17th
century. The mystery of the little brick-lined recess is not entirely
solved, but it is probable that here was a primitive cooler, deep below
the house, in which perishable foods or wines were stored.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box007"><SPAN href="images/007.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/007s.jpg" title="Jamestown house types: simple frame, half-timber, brick, and row. (Conjectural sketches by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Jamestown house types: simple frame, half-timber, brick, and row. (Conjectural sketches by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="523" height-obs="166" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Jamestown house types: simple frame, half-timber, brick, and row. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketches by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box008"><SPAN href="images/008.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/008s.jpg" title="Excavated foundation of a late 17th-century prototype of the Baltimore and Philadelphia row houses. Six families could have lived here." alt="[Illustration: Excavated foundation of a late 17th-century prototype of the Baltimore and Philadelphia row houses. Six families could have lived here.]" width-obs="533" height-obs="506" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Excavated foundation of a late 17th-century prototype of the Baltimore and Philadelphia row houses. Six families could have lived here.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="row_houses"></SPAN>Row Houses</h2>
<p>Although row houses—a continuous row of joined family residences on
unit foundations—were a common city feature in 17th-century England,
apparently they did not become popular at Jamestown. But the brick
foundation of one true multiple-family unit has been uncovered, and two
others approach this category, thus providing the true precedent for the
row houses which came to characterize miles of Baltimore and
Philadelphia streets, and are a familiar pattern of some modern duplex
apartment units.</p>
<p>This Jamestown row house is probably the most impressive foundation on
the island. It is 16 feet long and 20 feet wide (inside measurement),
situated east of the Tercentenary Monument, facing south, well back from
the river and “the back streete.” A cellar and a great fireplace
terminate the east end, and 9 other fireplaces are evident in 4 main
divisions, which may have housed one family or more in each division.
Since artifact evidence relates it to the last quarter of the 17th
century, and possibly the beginning of the 18th, there would seem little
possibility of the row house having served as a public building or a
tavern. There is some evidence that at least part of the structure
burned.</p>
<p>Two other foundations might be classed as row houses, but are less
clearly delineated. One is the Last Statehouse Group of five units in
the APVA grounds.<span class="fn-marker"><SPAN href="#fn-1">[1]</SPAN></span> The other multiple house is a 3-unit building
midway between the brick church and Orchard Run. This structure
generally fits the description of the First Statehouse in its 3-unit
construction and dimensions, and has long been thought to be the
original Statehouse building. The structure, however, is as close to the
present shoreline as the First Statehouse is recorded to have been in
1642—a puzzling coincidence, if the factor of erosion is taken into
consideration.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="single_brick_houses"></SPAN>Single Brick Houses</h2>
<p>These were once supposed to have been very common at Jamestown, but are
represented by only 12 foundations, not all of which have been
completely excavated. Like the other excavated structures, if these
houses can be related to the ownership of the land tracts on which they
once stood, we may someday know more of their possible identity.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="frame_houses"></SPAN>Frame Houses</h2>
<p>Partial or even whole brick footings do not always indicate brick houses
at Jamestown. Some 30 structures have been recorded which had brick
footings or isolated brick fireplace foundations, the appearance of
which suggests frame houses. These may be briefly classified as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Brick, or brick-and-cobble, wall-footings with central chimney bases
of brick—2.</li>
<li>Brick footing and outside chimney—3.</li>
<li>Brick footing only—10.</li>
<li>Brick chimney base alone remaining—12.</li>
<li>Stone footing only—1.</li>
<li>Cellar only, presumed to belong to frame or unfinished house, or to
have had all bricks salvaged—1.</li>
<li>Burned earth floor area only remaining, presumed to mark a frame
house—1.</li>
</ul>
<p>Some of the structures encountered in the first explorations remain to
be more fully excavated and recorded. Structures in this category total
23.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="miscellaneous_structures"></SPAN>Miscellaneous Structures</h2>
<p>Because of the inadequacy of Jamestown remains and records, it is
difficult to determine the purposes for which the various outbuildings
were used. Doubtless, many outbuildings did exist for various purposes,
and probably most of them were not substantial enough to leave a trace.
Two clearly isolated, small structures properly called outbuildings
(discovered in 1955) are all that will be cited here. The first is the
large double-chimney foundation just beyond the southwest corner of the
mansion east of the museum. Undoubtedly this belonged to a detached
kitchen. The second is a small, but thick-walled, rectangular structure
of brick which may have been a food storehouse or even a powder
magazine.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box009"><SPAN href="images/009.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/009s.jpg" title="Although most Jamestown workshops were probably made of framework and were merely sheds, one brick foundation has three brick fireboxes and a large brick chimney. This structure was probably a brew house, bakery, or distillery." alt="[Illustration: Although most Jamestown workshops were probably made of framework and were merely sheds, one brick foundation has three brick fireboxes and a large brick chimney. This structure was probably a brew house, bakery, or distillery.]" width-obs="545" height-obs="365" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Although most Jamestown workshops were probably made of framework and were merely sheds, one brick foundation has three brick fireboxes and a large brick chimney. This structure was probably a brew house, bakery, or distillery.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="workshop_structures"></SPAN>Workshop Structures</h2>
<p>Most of the early industries at Jamestown were undoubtedly housed in
perishable wooden structures that have left the least evident traces,
such as frame sheds for forges and wine presses, carpenters’ shops, and
buildings used by various artisans and craftsmen. So far, only two
industrial structures are clearly recognizable (aside from kilns),
although their precise use is not certain.</p>
<p>One of these, on the edge of Pitch and Tar Swamp, was a nearly square,
tile-floored workshop with a rough but substantial brick foundation
supporting the framework of the walls. On the floor were 3 fireboxes, 2
of which were associated with a large chimney area. What was fabricated
here has not yet been determined, although ceramic firing, brewing,
distilling, and even ironworking, have been suggested. Proximity of
pottery and lime-burning kilns, and a small pit where iron may have been
smelted, may be significant.</p>
<p>A second, very fragmentary brick foundation close to the present
riverbank suggests a shop rather than a house, but lacks firebox
evidence or other identifying features. It may be 18th- rather than
17th-century.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box010"><SPAN href="images/010.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/010s.jpg" title="Near the foundation of the probable bake shop, a pair of kilns once served for slaking lime, and perhaps for firing pottery. Between the kilns was a flame-scarred pit containing evidence of ironworking and the roasting of bog ore for iron." alt="[Illustration: Near the foundation of the probable bake shop, a pair of kilns once served for slaking lime, and perhaps for firing pottery. Between the kilns was a flame-scarred pit containing evidence of ironworking and the roasting of bog ore for iron.]" width-obs="530" height-obs="304" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Near the foundation of the probable bake shop, a pair of kilns once served for slaking lime, and perhaps for firing pottery. Between the kilns was a flame-scarred pit containing evidence of ironworking and the roasting of bog ore for iron.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="brick_walks_or_paved_areas"></SPAN>Brick Walks or Paved Areas</h2>
<p>It is difficult to assign a use for certain areas which have been paved
apparently with brick rubble, or, in more evident cases, by flatlaid
bricks. Four such paved areas have been discovered.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="brick_drains"></SPAN>Brick Drains</h2>
<p>Three brick drains, buried beneath the humus line, are identified with
17th-century houses.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="ice_storage_pit"></SPAN>Ice Storage Pit</h2>
<p>So far unique on Jamestown Island is a circular unlined pit, 14 feet in
top diameter, excavated 7 feet into a sandy substratum, and
corresponding in general character to known 17th-and 18th-century ice
pits in England. This pit which lies 250 feet east of the Visitor Center
may have served a spacious house which once stood nearby. It may be
assumed that the missing surface structure was circular, probably of
brick, had a small door, and was roofed over with thatch or sod for
insulation.</p>
<h2><aname="kilns"></SPAN>Kilns</h2>
<p>Both brick and lime kilns are present in the “James Citty” area, each
type being represented by four examples. The oldest of four brick kilns
so far discovered on the island is a small rectangular pit near Orchard
Run, excavated to a floor depth of 4 feet, which has been dated between
1607 and 1625 by associated cultural objects. This small pit, without
structural brick, was a brick-making “clamp,” consisting of unfired
brick built up over two firing chambers. There is good evidence that a
pottery kiln was situated 30 feet west of the “industrial area.”</p>
<h2><SPAN name="ironworking_pits"></SPAN>Ironworking Pits</h2>
<p>Also in the “industrial area” near Pitch and Tar Swamp, there is a
circular pit in which lime, bog iron, and charcoal suggest the
manufacture of iron. The previously mentioned pit within the area of the
Confederate Fort yielded sword parts, gun parts, bar iron, and small
tools, indicating a forge site, perhaps an armorer’s forge.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box011"><SPAN href="images/011.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/011s.jpg" title="Making pottery at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Making pottery at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="544" height-obs="352" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Making pottery at Jamestown. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box012"><SPAN href="images/012.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/012s.jpg" title="How an ironworking pit was used. (From contemporary sources.)" alt="[Illustration: How an ironworking pit was used. (From contemporary sources.)]" width-obs="443" height-obs="336" /></SPAN><div class="caption">How an ironworking pit was used. <span class="by">(From contemporary sources.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box013"><SPAN href="images/013.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/013s.jpg" title="Cross section of a brick-cased well at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)" alt="[Illustration: Cross section of a brick-cased well at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]" width-obs="386" height-obs="416" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Cross section of a brick-cased well at Jamestown. <span class="by">(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="illustration" id="box014"><SPAN href="images/014.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/014s.jpg" title="One of the intriguing mysteries of Jamestown is how the left leg and left half of a human pelvis came to be thrown with other refuse into a well behind the row house. The logical inference is that a rebel or criminal had been hanged, drawn, and quartered." alt="[Illustration: One of the intriguing mysteries of Jamestown is how the left leg and left half of a human pelvis came to be thrown with other refuse into a well behind the row house. The logical inference is that a rebel or criminal had been hanged, drawn, and quartered.]" width-obs="541" height-obs="373" /></SPAN><div class="caption">One of the intriguing mysteries of Jamestown is how the left leg and left half of a human pelvis came to be thrown with other refuse into a well behind the row house. The logical inference is that a rebel or criminal had been hanged, drawn, and quartered.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="wells"></SPAN>Wells</h2>
<p>At Jamestown, wells are conspicuous features near many house locations.
Those that have been found may be summarized as follows: wood lined—1;
circular, brick cased—10; circular, uncased with wooden barrel at
bottom—6; circular, uncased, incompletely excavated—4.</p>
<p>Wells are invariably found filled with earth mixed with trash, mainly
food animal bones. A well, located immediately north of the row house,
had a human left leg and left half of the pelvis buried in the fill at a
depth of 4 feet.</p>
<h2><SPAN name="ditches"></SPAN>Ditches</h2>
<p>The most significant feature determining landholdings are the ditches of
the Jamestown area. During the 1954-56 explorations 63 ditches were
added to the 33 previously discovered, thus increasing the opportunity
to delineate property lines, many of which used to be bounded by such
ditches.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box015"><SPAN href="images/015.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/015s.jpg" title="Careful excavation was required to identify the fill of long-obliterated ditches once draining fields and marking property boundaries." alt="[Illustration: Careful excavation was required to identify the fill of long-obliterated ditches once draining fields and marking property boundaries.]" width-obs="439" height-obs="431" /></SPAN><div class="caption">Careful excavation was required to identify the fill of long-obliterated ditches once draining fields and marking property boundaries.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="refuse_pits"></SPAN>Refuse Pits</h2>
<p>“James Citty,” like all other settlements in all ages, had to have
places for disposal of refuse. That much refuse was disposed of by
casting it in the James River is unlikely, since before the dawn of
history it has been a trait of man to live on top of his own refuse
rather than litter a shore with it. While it may be that no pits were
dug purposely for refuse disposal, pits opened for brick or ceramic clay
(or dug for ice houses, wells, or other purposes and later abandoned)
were used for dumping trash. In 1955 a refuse pit almost 40 feet square
was discovered in the “industrial area” near the workshop, ironworking
pit, and pottery kilns. Filled with trash from the first half of the
17th century, this pit contained such artifacts as a swepthilt rapier
(made about 1600), a cutlass, the breastplate and backpiece of a light
suit of armor, a number of utensils of metal, ceramics, and glass, to
add to the collection of early 17th-century arts and crafts. Several
smaller refuse pits were noted, and it is worth commenting that many
ditches finally became trash accumulation areas.</p>
<div class="illustration" id="box016"><SPAN href="images/016.jpg">
<ANTIMG class="illustration" src="images/016s.jpg" title="A cutlass in excellent preservation and many other objects from 17th-century Jamestown were found in a large clay borrow pit filled with refuse." alt="[Illustration: A cutlass in excellent preservation and many other objects from 17th-century Jamestown were found in a large clay borrow pit filled with refuse.]" width-obs="440" height-obs="308" /></SPAN><div class="caption">A cutlass in excellent preservation and many other objects from 17th-century Jamestown were found in a large clay borrow pit filled with refuse.</div>
</div>
<h2><SPAN name="roads"></SPAN>Roads</h2>
<p>Only one road identified by 17th-century references has been definitely
located by archeologists. This is the “Maine Cart Road,” sometimes
called the “Greate Road,” leading from Glasshouse Point across the
isthmus and onto the island, where it can be traced as far as its
passage into the main “James Citty” area just north of the brick church
and churchyard. A trace is all that remains of a road which once ran
east-west between parallel ditches, south of the row house.</p>
<p style="font-style: italic; margin-top: 1.75em">
The foregoing has been a summary of the physical aspect of the Jamestown
settlement from the standpoint of archeology. An account of the arts and
crafts revealed by the artifacts found in these explorations follows.
The whole story relating the settlers themselves to evidence they left
in the soil of Jamestown remains to be told.</p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.