Jamestown Rediscovery is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

project of

Preservation Virginia Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus o ...

(formerly the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) investigating the remains of the original English settlement at Jamestown established in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

in North America beginning on May 14, 1607. In 1994, at the behest of Preservation Virginia, archaeologist

William Kelso William M. Kelso, C.B.E., Ph. D., F.S.A. (born 1941), often referred to as Bill Kelso, is an American archaeologist specializing in Virginia's colonial period, particularly the Jamestown colony. Personal life A native of Lakeside, Ohio, Kelso ea ...

began directing excavations at Historic Jamestown on

Jamestown Island Jamestown Island is a island in the James River in Virginia, part of James City County. It is located off Glasshouse Point, to which it is connected via a causeway to the Colonial Parkway. Much of the island is wetland, including both swamp and ...

. By 1996, the Jamestown Rediscovery team had discovered the foundations of the 1607 James Fort, long thought to have disappeared in the waters of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesap ...

. It was initially a 10-year project, but given the wealth of knowledge and artifacts uncovered throughout its lifetime, it has been continued indefinitely.

History

In 1994, Preservation Virginia agreed to fund a 10-year archaeological project called Jamestown Rediscovery, in order to survey and explore their land. The original goal was to locate archaeological remains of "the first years of settlement at Jamestown, especially of the earliest fortified town; nd the/nowiki> subsequent growth and development of the town". On April 4 work was begun in the area near the church protected by the 1900 sea wall, and archaeologists quickly discovered early colonial artifacts. In 1996, they successfully located parts of the palisade of the original 1607 James Fort. The governor announced this discovery on September 12. Subsequent excavations have shown that only one corner of the first triangular fort (which contained the original settlement) was destroyed. In 2006, the first well located in a cellar on the site was excavated. In 2007, to mark the 400th anniversary,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

re-visited the site (having first been there in 1957). In 2010, archaeologists discovered the site of the second church constructed at Jamestown. In May 2013, in conjunction with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

, the project announced the discovery of a young English woman who had been cannibalized during the "starving time" winter of 1609–1610. In July 2015, the remains of four principals of the colony were identified by the Rediscovery/Smithsonian team. From late 2016, attention has moved to the Memorial Church.

Influence of research

Since it began, the extended archaeological campaign has made multiple significant discoveries. It has uncovered much of the fort, the remains of several houses and wells, a palisade wall line attached to the fort, and the graves of several early settlers. Visitors can now view the site of James Fort, the 17th-century church tower, and the site of the 17th-century town, as well as tour an archaeological museum called the Archaearium and view some of the artifacts found. Excavations continuing on the site have uncovered evidence of the

Starving Time The Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of starvation during the winter of 1609–1610. There were about 500 Jamestown residents at the beginning of the winter. However, there were only 61 people still alive when the ...

winter of 1609/10, the arrival of the survivors from the Bermuda shipwreck ''

Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission to the Jamestown Colony, that was wrecked in Bermuda in 1609. She was the 300 ton purpose-built flagship of the London Company and a highly unusual ...

'', and close to 1.5 million artifacts. Numerous colonial structures have been identified, including temporary soldiers' shelters, row houses, wells, the storehouse, and the 1608 church. The original 10-year archaeological project has continued well past this period. Current visitors to the site can see ongoing excavation efforts as they continue to unearth the original settlement's buildings and artifacts near the James Fort site and

Jamestown Church Jamestown Church, constructed in brick from 1639 onward, in Jamestown in the Mid-Atlantic state of Virginia, is one of the oldest surviving building remnants built by Europeans in the original thirteen colonies and in the United States overa ...

. Several of the archaeologist teams' discoveries have been named as the top 10 archaeology finds in various years by ''

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

''. In 2013 they found evidence that the colonists had likely resorted to

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

during the "starving time", and in 2010 discovered the remains of the original church built inside James Fort. In 2015 four graves within it were found to belong to important Jamestown settlers.

Supposed loss

Jamestown Rediscovery corrects a historical myth long believed to be true: that the site of the original Jamestown settlement of 1607 had washed into the James River long ago by erosion and tides. The archaeologists, including William Kelso, Beverly (Bly) Straube, and Nick Luccketti, used primary source material to estimate the location of the fort on Jamestown Island. Sources included the Zuniga Map, made by a Spanish spy of the same name, and the accounts of original colonists, such as

William Strachey William Strachey (4 April 1572 – buried 21 June 1621) was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America. He is best remembered today as the eye-witness reporter o ...

Captain Ralph Hamor Captain Ralph Hamor (1589-1626) was one of the original colonists to settle in Virginia, and author of ''A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia'', which he wrote upon returning to London in 1615. Spellings of his first and last name ...

, and John Smith. Upon analysis of these sources and other buildings, the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists discovered the postholes of the original fort; discoloration in the soil left evidence of the palisades and bulwarks that once formed the fort wall.(with B. Straube) Jamestown Rediscovery: 1994-2004. Richmond: APVA Preservation Virginia, 2004. After expanding the dig, the archaeologists were able to validate that the Jamestown Fort had begun to wash into the James River, but was instead covered inadvertently by a Confederate earthwork during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. Throughout this excavation, the team discovered evidence of fort buildings, artifacts, and the remains of settlers.

Wealth of finds

To date the project has retrieved more than two million artifacts, a large fraction of them from the first few years of the settlement's history. The discovery of a well within the limits of the Jamestown fort is less critical for understanding the colonial attempt to find a fresh water source and more important due to the artifacts found in the well. Wells that had stopped providing (or never provided) drinkable water were frequently filled in with the refuse of daily life, which gave the archaeologists the opportunity to look at a concentrated collection of stratified artifacts. Tobacco pipes, pottery sherds, and combat

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

all help date the excavation site to the early 17th century, giving even more support to the positive identification of the fort. In this case, curator Beverly Straube was able to substantiate evidence regarding the professional work done by the original settlers.

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

bricklayers A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonr ...

, masons,

perfumer A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a ''nose'' (French: ''nez'') due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist wh ...

tailors A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

glassmaker Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) o ...

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

s, and

tobacco pipe A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simp ...

makers are among the dominant professions for which there is archaeological evidence.

Notable figures

The Jamestown Rediscovery project recovered and cataloged the remains of many of the original Jamestown settlers. For example, one of the first human finds was the skeleton of a higher-status man aged around 19-20 who died due to a musket shot to the lower right leg that shattered the bones and led to a quick death. The skeleton was examined by the Smithsonian, and the flattened skull was forensically reconstructed and imagined. Later, among the discoveries in the cellar was the skull of a young woman who had clearly been cannibalized. She was around fourteen years old at the time of her death from unknown causes. The research team has named her "Jane", and her identity is unknown. Although DNA samples have been saved for future examination, there is little hope of identifying modern relatives for comparative testing. A grave site with indications of an important figure was also located. The skeletal remains of one of the original colonists was found separated from the other burials and located in a place of honor near one of the fort's gates. The individual had been buried in a coffin, along with a staff signifying leadership. It had long been thought that Baron De La Warr, who died en route to the colony from England on his second trip, had been buried elsewhere, but some recent research concluded that his body was brought to Jamestown for burial. Some theorize the remains to be that of Captain

Bartholomew Gosnold Bartholomew Gosnold (1571 – 22 August 1607) was an English barrister, explorer and privateer who was instrumental in founding the Virginia Company in London and Jamestown in colonial America. He led the first recorded European expeditio ...

, one of the organizers of the colony, though others have claimed it to be the remains of

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He was ...

. While inquiries continue regarding the identity of this individual is, including genealogical study in England, his identity remains unknown. Remains were also excavated from the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

of the church built in 1608 – "potentially the first Protestant church built in the new world, and the men's burial there signals their high status in the colony, the researchers said". The four are potentially identified as "Rev. Robert Hunt, thought to be the first Anglican minister in the Americas; Capt.

Gabriel Archer Gabriel Archer was an early explorer who became a settler at Jamestown. He explored Cape Cod with Bartholomew Gosnold before going in the first wave of settlers to Jamestown in 1607. At Jamestown, he clashed with John Smith repeatedly before event ...

, the early expeditionary leader; Sir Ferdinando Wainman, the cousin of Sir Thomas West, the Virginian governor; and Capt. William West, the governor's uncle".Fandos, Nicholas
"Remains of Early Colonial Jamestown Leaders Are Identified"
''New York Times'', July 28, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-28. At present, these identifications are based on circumstantial evidence.

Unique identity

The first settlers included men with experience of warfare and fort-building in the Low Countries during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

. These people brought a wider set of skills and experiences than the English settlers. Further, the ongoing needs to adapt to life in Virginia and to interact with the indigenous peoples soon led to the expression of local culture, as evidence in artefacts such as modified armor or locally made clay pipes.

Gallery

File:Rediscover Jamestown Interpretive Sign, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial National Historical Park, Jamestown, Virginia (14424242272).jpg, Interpretive Sign File:Historic Jamestown 1.jpg, Main entrance, near the church, 2015 File:Historic Jamestown 10.jpg, The site in 2015 File:Historic Jamestown 8.jpg, View from the riverside, 2015 File:1607 James Fort English Style Building - panoramio.jpg, Wooden barracks frame, 2010 File:James Fort Site, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial National Historical Park, Jamestown, Virginia (14445783923).jpg, The site in 2014 File:James Fort Site, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial National Historical Park, Jamestown, Virginia (14422228081).jpg, The site in 2014 File:Archaeological Site, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial National Historical Park, Jamestown, Virginia (14424246122).jpg, The site in 2014 Image:Yeardley House.jpg, Yeardley House, location of the project's offices

References

External links

Official website

Official YouTube Channel

Jamestown Rediscovery - a world uncovered
(APVA video covering the dig until 1997)
The Buried Truth
(APVA video covering the dig until 2007)
Historic Jamestowne - Comprehensive Bibliography

by John L. Cotter and J. Paul Hudson, (1957) at

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History of Virginia Archaeological sites in Virginia