THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100489
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: JAMESTOWN ISLAND LENGTH: Long : 152 lines
Other than the lapping of the James River and the snick of trowel and shovel, little sound issues from inside the excavations. But the dig's stained soil is speaking loudly to a small group of scientists who may be on the verge of one of the most important archaeological finds of the century in the United States.
Project leader William Kelso, however, is not ready to claim that his team has unearthed the original site of James Fort, home to the first permanent English colony in North America in 1607.
``We're hot on the trail of fortifications,'' Kelso said. ``We've got to be triple careful coming to judgment. The results of the summer will tell the tale.''
Entering its third year, the Jamestown Rediscovery project is reaching a critical phase. Already, researchers have uncovered a row of impressions left by decayed logs, an indication of palisades that could have comprised one side of the triangular fort.
Close to 90,000 17th-century objects have been discovered, including armor, weaponry, buttons, coins and other everyday objects such as an ax blade, book clasps and lead seals. Added together, the finds are presenting a comprehensive picture of English colonial life in Virginia - a life, according to Kelso and his team, that is proving far more complex than any so far pictured in history books.
``This is probably the most significant archaeological dig going on right now in the United States,'' said Warren M. Billings, distinguished professor of history at the University of New Orleans and chairman of an advisory board overseeing the effort. ``The stuff they've dug up is certainly some of the most impressive 17th-century settlement artifacts ever recovered. Kelso is not ready to declare victory yet. I approve his caution; I think he's wise.''
The venture, projected to cost $3 million over 10 years, is being sponsored by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, an organization created in 1889 by Norfolk resident Mary Jeffrey Galt. The association remains largely volunteer, with more than 4,000 active members and roughly 30 historic sites statewide.
Of the 1,500 total acres on Jamestown Island, most are owned by the National Park Service. The James Fort dig is taking place on a portion of 22 1/2 acres owned by the preservation association.
Whether or not the excavations prove beyond doubt that the fort hadn't been swallowed up by the encroaching James River, as most historians assumed, the dig appears destined to overturn some treasured assumptions.
First, Native American politics had much to do with Jamestown survival. It was a fact not lost on the Jamestown settlement party, which came prepared to trade with the indigenous population.
So far, some 1,400 sheets of flat copper have been excavated. Copper was prized by native tribes up and down the East Coast. But supply of copper to natives in Tidewater was limited due to conflict with people in the northern and western part of Virginia. So English copper, fashioned by Jamestown artisans into beads, pendants and other symbols of prestige and power, may have insured the colony's survival.
``It's quite clear from the records that the English were trading copper to the Indians, mostly for food,'' said Rediscovery senior archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti. ``The craftsmen and artists probably saved the colony, at least in the first two years.''
Second, the settlers weren't idle gentlemen or know-nothing adventurers. Most appear to have been soldiers with extensive military experience in the Netherlands, fighting with the Dutch against the Spanish in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Some apparently set out on extended expeditions from Jamestown to the present-day areas around Richmond and Charlottesville, judging from the recovery at the dig of minerals and crystals not found in eastern Virginian.
The high rate of death at Jamestown, capped by the so-called ``starving times'' of 1609-1610 (60 of 500 colonists survived), could have much to do with climate: The soldier-settlers couldn't easily adapt to Virginia's infamous heat and humidity.
Perhaps most importantly, the interaction between the English and native Virginians was two-way. Evidence indicates that the natives gave the English ideas on house construction, food collection, food storage, perhaps even medical care. For their part, the English played a part in a long-standing intertribal power struggle that was no less vicious than any European conflict.
``Bill and his people are beginning to make sense of the landscape,'' said George Stuart, chairman of the National Geographic Society's committee for research and exploration. ``They're careful, meticulous and they know their stuff. They're doing a magnificent job.''
For project leader Kelso, announcement of the fort's discovery could cap a 34-year career that has included some of the high points of colonial archaeology, including stints at Monticello near Charlottesville, and Carter's Grove, outside of Williamsburg.
``I'm really excited about where we are with the project. Our major goals are being met,'' he said. ``We have just the tip of the iceberg. Now that we know where to look, how much more will we find?'' ILLUSTRATION: Jamestown Rediscovery project reaches a critical phase
BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Jamestown Rediscovery Project director Bill Kelso can almost taste
the words; but he is being cautious about saying just yet that he
has found the 1607 fort long thought resting under the James River.
The dig is producing what is being called ``some of the most
impressive 17th-century settlement artifacts ever recovered.''
BILL TIERNAN photos
The Virginian-Pilot
As though peeling back layers of time, archaeology student Seth
Mallios removes a section of tarp over the excavation site.
Nature provided its own handle to a centuries-buried broadax that is
among the 90,000 objects unearthed in the Jamestown dig. Such
implements are helping reinterpret history.
Nature provided its own handle to a centuries-buried broadax that is
among the objects unearthed in the dig.
CELEBRATION EVENTS
A number of activities on Saturday and Sunday will be held to
celebrate the 389th anniversary of the Jamestown landing. They
include:
On Jamestown Island
17th century-style military encampments, with demonstrations of
military-style weapons;
Tours of the Jamestown Rediscovery excavations and views of
recovered artifacts;
Lectures on archaeology and 17th-century navigation;
A Sunday band concert at 3:15 p.m.
At the Jamestown Settlement
Sailing maneuvers and a cannon salute from the reconstructed ship
Godspeed;
Demonstrations of the lives and practices of 17th century-era
natives and colonists;
Tours of the replicas of the three ships that originally
colonized Virginia;
Special programs on 17th-century trade, economics and politics.
Sponsoring the festivities are the Association for the
Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Jamestown Settlement and the
National Park Service.
Admission to Jamestown Island is $8 per car or $2 for pedestrians
and cyclists. With paid admission to Jamestown Island, visitors
will receive a coupon good for a 10 percent discount to admission to
the Jamestown Settlement Museum on May 11 and 12.
Jamestown Settlement admission is $9 for adults and $4.25 for
children ages 6 through 12. Visitors to Jamestown Settlement will
receive a coupon worth $1 off admission to Jamestown Island.
DIRECTIONS
I-64 West to Route 199 West. Follow signs to Jamestown.
Questions? Call Jamestown Island at (804) 229-1733 or the
Jamestown Settlement at (804) 253-4838.
by CNB