Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JAMESTOWN LENGTH: Short
The excavations are part of the Jamestown Archaeological Assessment, a five-year study by the National Park Service, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the College of William and Mary.
A groundbreaking ceremony last week included representatives from those groups and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.
William and Mary students will participate in the excavations to try to find the original site of a fort that was built in 1607, the year three ships carrying English colonists sailed up the James River.
The effort also will try to uncover town boundaries, plant life and farm settlements.
This excavation is different from past searches for artifacts and foundations in Jamestown, said Peggy Gaul, a spokeswoman for Colonial National Historic Park.
"Remote sensing equipment such as magnetometers are being used," she said. "Devices such as these literally X-ray the ground looking for archaeological features."
Earlier this year, scientists using remote sensing equipment surveyed a section of the town site at Jamestown Settlement.
Park service officials hope the sensors will identify areas of archaeological interest throughout the area to minimize the digging necessary in studies leading up to 2007, the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown's founding.
"We want to see if remote sensing is accurate," Gaul said. "We want to actually look into the ground before going into the ground."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.