Jamestown Rediscovery

1958 image of Jamestown Island showing the supposed and actual locations of the fort

Jamestown Rediscovery lies in the correction of a historical myth previously thought to be true – that the site of the original Jamestown settlement of 1607 had washed into the James River long ago. 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, such as the Zuniga Map, created by a Spanish spy of the same name, and the accounts of original colonists, such as William Strachey, Captain Ralph Hamor, and John Smith.[6]

Upon analysis of these sources and other buildings, the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists discovered the postholes of the original fort; discoloration in the soil left the evidence of the palisades and bulwarks that once formed the fort wall.[7] After expanding the dig, the archaeologists were able to validate that the Jamestown Fort had only begun to wash into the James River, but was instead covered inadvertently by a Confederate earthwork during the American Civil War.[7] Throughout this excavation, the team discovered evidence of fort buildings, artifacts, and the remains of settlers.[8]

To date the project had retrieved over two million artifacts,[9] 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 all help date the excavation site to the early 17th century, giving even more support to the positive identification of the fort.[10] In this case, curator Beverly Straube was able to substantiate evidence regarding the professional work done by the original settlers. Goldsmiths, bricklayers, masons, perfumers, tailors, fishermen, coopers, blacksmiths, glassmakers, carpenters, and tobacco pipe makers are among the dominant professions for which there is archaeological evidence.[11]

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 there leading to a quick death. The skeleton was examined by Doug Owsley from the Smithsonian, and the flattened skull was then 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, and although DNA samples have been saved for future examination, there is little hope of identifying modern relatives for comparative testing.[12]

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 back to the colony from England on his second trip, had been buried elsewhere but some recent research concluded that his body was in fact brought to Jamestown for burial.[13] Some theorize the remains to be that of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold,[14] one of the organizers of the colony, though others have claimed it to be the remains of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. While inquiries continue regarding who this individual is, even going as far as genealogical study in England, his identity remains unknown.

Remains were also excavated from the chancel 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, the early expeditionary leader; Sir Ferdinando Wainman, the cousin of Sir Thomas West, the Virginian governor; and Capt. William West, the governor's uncle".[15] At present, these identifications are based on circumstantial evidence.

The first settlers included men with experience of warfare and fort-building in the low countries during the Dutch Revolt. 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.