The Project Gutenberg EBook of New Discoveries at Jamestown
by John L. Cotter
J. Paul Hudson
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Title: New Discoveries at Jamestown
Site of the First Successful English Settlement in America
Author: John L. Cotter
J. Paul Hudson
Release Date: July 13, 2005 [EBook #16277]
Language: English
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[Illustration]
New Discoveries at
JAMESTOWN
Site of the First Successful
English Settlement in America
By JOHN L. COTTER and J. PAUL HUDSON
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1957
[Illustration]
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fred A. Seaton, Secretary
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Conrad L. Wirth, Director
[Illustration]
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office
Washington 25, D.C.--Price 50 cents
Preface
Jamestown, a name of first rank among historic names, saw the birth of
English America. Here on an island in the James River in the heart of
tidewater Virginia the English carved a settlement out of the
wilderness. It grew from a rude palisaded fort into a busy community and
then into a small town that enjoyed many of the comforts of daily
living. For 13 years (until 1620) Virginia was the only English colony
on the American mainland. Jamestown served this colony as its place of
origin and as its capital for 92 years--from 1607 to 1699.
After its first century of prominence and leadership, "James Towne"
entered a long decline, precipitated, in 1700, by the removal of the
seat of government to Williamsburg. Its residents drifted away, its
streets grew silent, its buildings decayed, and even its lots and former
public places became cultivated fields. Time passed and much was
forgotten or obscured. So it was when it became a historic area, in
part, in 1893, and when the whole island became devoted to historical
purposes in 1934.
Since these dates, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities and the National Park Service have worked toward the
preservation of all that still exists of old Jamestown, and are
dedicated to learning its story more completely. Thus the American
people can more fully understand and enjoy their historic heritage of
Jamestown. A great deal of study along many lines has been required and
much more is still needed to fill the many gaps. Libraries have been
searched for pictures, documents, and plans. Land records have been
carefully scrutinized and old existing landmarks studied.
Seventeenth-century buildings and objects still surviving in England,
America, and elsewhere have been viewed as well as museum collections. A
key part of the search has been the systematic excavation of the
townsite itself, in order to bring to light the information and objects
long buried there. This is the aspect of the broad Jamestown study that
is told in this publication, particularly as its relates to the material
things, large and small, of daily life in Jamestown in the 17th century.
These valuable objects are a priceless part of the Jamestown that exists
today. Collectively they form one of the finest groups of such early
material that has been assembled anywhere. Although most are broken and
few are intact, they would not be traded for better preserved and more
perfect examples that do exist elsewhere. These things were the property
and the possessions of the men and women who lived, worked, and died at
Jamestown. It was because of these people, who handled and used them in
their daily living, and because of what they accomplished, that
Jamestown is one of our best remembered historic places.
April 6, 1956
CHARLES E. HATCH, JR.
Colonial National Historical Park
Contents
PART ONE. Exploration: The Ground Yields Many Things
Churches
Mansions
Row Houses
Single Brick Houses
Frame Houses
Miscellaneous Structures
Workshop Structures
Brick Walks or Paved Areas
Brick Drains
Ice Storage Pit
Kilns
Ironworking Pits
Wells
Ditches
Refuse Pits
Roads
PART TWO. Daily Life at Jamestown 300 Years Ago As Revealed by Recovered
Objects
Houses
Building Hardware
Windows
Wall and Fireplace Tile
Roofing Materials
Lime
Plaster and Mortar
Ornamental Plasterwork
House Furnishings
Furniture
Lighting Devices
Fireplace Accessories
Cooking Utensils and Accessories
Table Accessories
Knives, Forks, and Spoons
Pottery and Porcelain
Lead-glazed Earthenware
English Sgraffito-ware (a slipware)
English Slip-decorated-ware
English Redware with Marbled Slip Decoration
Italian Maiolica
Delftware
Spanish Maiolica
Salt-glazed Stoneware
Metalware Eating and Drinking Vessels
Glass Drinking Vessels
Glass Wine and Gin Bottles
Food Storage Vessels and Facilities
Clothing and Footwear
Artisans and Craftsmen
The Carpenter
The Cooper
The Woodcutter and Sawyer
The Ironworker
The Blacksmith
The Boatbuilder
The Potter
The Glassblower
The Brickmaker and Tilemaker
The Limeburner
Other Craftsmen
Home Industries
Spinning and Weaving
Malting and Brewing
Dairying and Cheesemaking
Baking
Associated Industries
Military Equipment
Polearms
Caltrop
Swords, Rapiers, and Cutlasses
Cannon
Muskets
Pistols
Light Armor and Siege Helmet
Farming
Fishing
Health
Amusements and Pastimes
Smoking
Games
Archery and Hunting
Music and Dancing
Travel
Boats and Ships
Horses, Wagons, and Carriages
Bits and Bridle Ornaments
Spurs and Stirrups
Horseshoes and Currycombs
Branding Irons
Wagons and Carriage Parts
Trade
Indian Trade
Beads
Knives
Shears
Bells
Hatchets
Pots and Pans
Brass Casting Counters or Jettons
Miscellaneous Items
English and Foreign Trade
Lead Bale Clips
Piers and Wharfs
Worshipping
Select Bibliography
[Illustration: JAMESTOWN ISLAND, VIRGINIA. ON THIS SMALL ISLAND--HALF
FOREST AND HALF MARSH--WAS PLANTED THE ENGLISH COLONY OF WHICH RALEIGH
AND GILBERT DREAMED.]
PART ONE
Exploration: The Ground Yields Many Things
By JOHN L. COTTER
Supervising Archeologist, Colonial National Historical Park
"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."
--LORD BACON
In the Summer 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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.]
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.
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.
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.
Churches
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.
[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.]
Mansions
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.
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.
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.
[Illustration: JAMESTOWN HOUSE TYPES: SIMPLE FRAME, HALF-TIMBER, BRICK,
AND ROW. (Conjectural sketches by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: EXCAVATED FOUNDATION OF A LATE 17TH-CENTURY PROTOTYPE OF
THE BALTIMORE AND PHILADELPHIA ROW HOUSES. SIX FAMILIES COULD HAVE LIVED
HERE.]
Row Houses
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.
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.
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.[1] 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.
[Footnote 1: After the Third Statehouse burned, it was replaced on the
same foundations by the Fourth (and last) Statehouse built on Jamestown
Island, which burned in 1698. The Fifth Statehouse, now reconstructed at
Williamsburg, also burned, continuing an unhappy tradition that includes
the destruction of the National Capitol at Washington in 1814 and the
Virginia Statehouse at Richmond in 1865.]
Single Brick Houses
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.
Frame Houses
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:
Brick, or brick-and-cobble, wall-footings with central chimney bases
of brick--2.
Brick footing and outside chimney--3.
Brick footing only--10.
Brick chimney base alone remaining--12.
Stone footing only--1.
Cellar only, presumed to belong to frame or unfinished house, or to
have had all bricks salvaged--1.
Burned earth floor area only remaining, presumed to mark a frame
house--1.
Some of the structures encountered in the first explorations remain to
be more fully excavated and recorded. Structures in this category total
23.
Miscellaneous Structures
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.
[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.]
Workshop Structures
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.
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.
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.
[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.]
Brick Walks or Paved Areas
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.
Brick Drains
Three brick drains, buried beneath the humus line, are identified with
17th-century houses.
Ice Storage Pit
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.
Kilns
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."
Ironworking Pits
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.
[Illustration: MAKING POTTERY AT JAMESTOWN. (Conjectural sketch by
Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: HOW AN IRONWORKING PIT WAS USED. (From contemporary
sources.)]
[Illustration: CROSS SECTION OF A BRICK-CASED WELL AT JAMESTOWN.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[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.]
Wells
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.
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.
Ditches
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.
[Illustration: CAREFUL EXCAVATION WAS REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY THE FILL OF
LONG-OBLITERATED DITCHES ONCE DRAINING FIELDS AND MARKING PROPERTY
BOUNDARIES.]
Refuse Pits
"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.
[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.]
Roads
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.
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.
PART TWO
Daily Life at Jamestown 300 Years Ago As Revealed by Recovered Objects
By J. PAUL HUDSON
Museum Curator, Colonial National Historical Park
"Hitherto they [historians] have depended too much upon manuscript
evidences... Perhaps the day is not distant when the social historian,
whether he is writing about the New England Puritans, or the
Pennsylvania Germans, or the rice planters of Southern Carolina, will
look underground, as well as in the archives, for his evidence."--DR.
T.J. WERTENBAKER
Archeological explorations at Jamestown, Va.--site of the first
successful English colony in the New World--have brought to light
thousands of colonial period artifacts which were used by the Virginia
settlers from 1607 until 1699.
A study of these ancient objects, which were buried under the soil at
Jamestown for many decades, reveal in many ways how the English
colonists lived on a small wilderness island over 300 years ago.
Artifacts unearthed include pottery and glassware, clay pipes, building
materials and handwrought hardware, tools and farm implements, weapons,
kitchen utensils and fireplace accessories, furniture hardware, lighting
devices, eating and drinking vessels, tableware, costume accessories and
footwear, medical equipment, horse gear, coins and weights, and many
items relating to household and town industries, transportation, trade,
and fishing.
These artifacts provide invaluable information concerning the everyday
life and manners of the first Virginia settlers. A brief description of
many of them is given on the following pages.
Excavated artifacts reveal that the Jamestown colonists built their
houses in the same style as those they knew in England, insofar as local
materials permitted. There were differences, however, for they were in a
land replete with vast forests and untapped natural resources close at
hand which they used to advantage. The Virginia known to the first
settlers was a carpenter's paradise, and consequently the early
buildings were the work of artisans in wood. The first rude shelters,
the split-wood fencing, the clapboard roof, puncheon floors, cupboards,
benches, stools, and wood plows are all examples of skilled working with
wood.
Houses
Timber at Jamestown was plentiful, so many houses, especially in the
early years, were of frame construction. During the first decade or two,
house construction reflected a primitive use found ready at hand, such
as saplings for a sort of framing, and use of branches, leafage, bark,
and animal skins. During these early years--when the settlers were
having such a difficult time staying alive--mud walls, wattle and daub,
and coarse marshgrass thatch were used. Out of these years of
improvising, construction with squared posts, and later with quarterings
(studs), came into practice. There was probably little thought of
plastering walls during the first two decades, and when plastering was
adopted, clay, or clay mixed with oyster-shell lime, was first used. The
early floors were of clay, and such floors continued to be used in the
humbler dwellings throughout the 1600's. It can be assumed that most of
the dwellings, or shelters, of the Jamestown settlers, certainly until
about 1630, had a rough and primitive appearance.
After Jamestown had attained some degree of permanency, many houses were
built of brick. It is quite clear from documentary records and
archeological remains, that the colonists not only made their own
brick, but that the process, as well as the finished products, followed
closely the English method. Four brick kilns were discovered on
Jamestown Island during archeological explorations.
[Illustration: AN EARLY JAMESTOWN HOUSE. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney
E. King.)]
[Illustration: A BRICK HOUSE AT JAMESTOWN, ABOUT 1640. (Conjectural
sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: THE MAJORITY OF THE LOCKS AND KEYS USED IN THE EARLY
HOUSES WERE IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND.]
[Illustration: A FEW 17TH-CENTURY HANDWROUGHT HINGES IN THE JAMESTOWN
COLLECTION.]
BUILDING HARDWARE
While some of the handwrought hardware found at Jamestown was made in
the colony, most of it was imported from England. Types of building
hardware unearthed include an excellent assortment of nails, spikes,
staples, locks, keys, hinges, pintles, shutter fasteners, bolts, hasps,
latches, door knockers, door pulls, footscrapers, gutter supports, wall
anchors, and ornamental hardware. In many instances each type is
represented by several varieties. Citing 2 examples, there are more
than 20 kinds of nails and at least 15 different kinds of hinges in
the collection.
[Illustration: SOME NAILS, SPIKES, STAPLES, AND OTHER IRON HARDWARE USED
AT JAMESTOWN OVER 300 YEARS AGO.]
[Illustration: SOME JAMESTOWN HOUSES HAD LEADED GLAZED WROUGHT-IRON
WINDOW CASEMENTS SIMILAR TO THE ONES SHOWN HERE. (Courtesy, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.)]
It is believed that wooden hardware was used on many of the early
houses.
WINDOWS
A few glass window panes may have been made in the Jamestown glass
factory which was built in 1608. Most of the window glass used in the
colony, however, was shipped from England. Many of the early panes used
were diamond-shaped (known as "quarrels"), and were held in place by
means of slotted lead strips (known as "cames"). The window frames used
in a few of the Jamestown houses were handwrought iron casements. Most
of the humbler dwellings had no glass panes in the windows. The window
openings were closed by batten shutters, operated by hinges of wood and
fitted with wooden fastening devices.
WALL AND FIREPLACE TILE
Most of the hand-painted tiles used at Jamestown (for decorating walls
and fireplaces) were imported from Holland. A few were made in England.
Made of a light-buff clay, and known as delftware, the tiles unearthed
are decorated in blue, with a conventionalized design in each corner and
a central picture or motif. Covered with a tin glaze, the majority of
tiles found measure about 5 inches square by 3/8-inch thick. The edges
are beveled, permitting them to be set very close together at the glazed
surface. The attractively decorated tiles added a touch of beauty to a
few Jamestown interiors.
ROOFING MATERIALS
Four kinds of roofing materials have been excavated: Plain, flat,
earthenware tiles; curved earthenware pantiles; slate; and wooden
shingles. The plain tiles were made in Jamestown brick kilns, and it is
possible that some of the S-curved red pantiles were also made locally.
Slate was brought over from England, whereas most of the shingles were
rived from native cedar and oak logs. Other materials used in roofing
included bark, marshgrass and reeds (thatch), and boards. Sod appears to
have been used on some of the very early houses.
LIME
Lime for mortar, plaster, and ornamental plaster was made in crude lime
kilns at Jamestown from calcined oyster shells. The oyster shells came
from the James River.
[Illustration: A WROUGHT-IRON WINDOW CASEMENT UNEARTHED NEAR AN EARLY
17TH-CENTURY BUILDING SITE.]
[Illustration: WALL OR FIREPLACE TILES FOUND AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE
MADE IN HOLLAND. THE BLUE DESIGNS AND PICTURES WERE PAINTED ON A WHITE
BACKGROUND.]
[Illustration: KINDS OF ROOFING MATERIALS EXCAVATED INCLUDE FLAT TILES
(SHOWN HERE), CURVED PANTILES, SLATE, AND SHINGLES.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENTAL PLASTER WAS USED IN A FEW BUILDINGS FOR
ENHANCING THE BEAUTY OF BOTH THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR.]
[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF A SMALL JAMESTOWN HOUSE, ABOUT 1650.
ALTHOUGH THE PAINTING IS CONJECTURAL, MANY ITEMS SHOWN--POTTERY,
GLASSWARE, FIREPLACE TOOLS, AND KITCHEN ACCESSORIES--WERE UNEARTHED ON
THIS HISTORIC ISLAND. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)]
PLASTER AND MORTAR
Plaster and mortar have been found at Jamestown in abundance. It appears
that the majority of brick houses and many frame structures had
plastered walls and ceilings after 1635. Some plaster found had been
whitewashed, while other plaster bore its natural whitish-gray color.
Mortar was found wherever brick foundations were located. The plaster
and mortar used at Jamestown was made from oystershell lime, sand, and
clay.
ORNAMENTAL PLASTERWORK
Ornamental plaster was found in a few of the excavations. The
plasterwork was done in raised ornamental designs used for enhancing the
beauty of both the interior and exterior of a building. Designs that
have been found include Roman numerals, letters, mottos, crests, veined
leaves, rosettes, flowers, geometric designs, a lion, and a face or
mask. Many fragments of molded plaster cornices have also been
excavated. Broken oyster shells are distinguishable in the decorated
plasterwork, indicating that the pargeting was done at Jamestown.
House Furnishings
Busy conquering a stubborn wilderness, the first Jamestown settlers had
only a few things to make their houses cosy and cheerful. In most cases,
their worldly goods consisted of a few cooking utensils, a change of
clothing, a weapon or two, and a few pieces of homemade furniture.
However, between 1607 and 1612, George Percy was generously outfitted
with some necessities as well as much fine apparel and numerous luxury
items (including a feather bed) by his brother the Ninth Earl of
Northumberland, as published records of the Earl's expenditures for
George show. Other persons of gentle birth and position quite probably
enjoyed similar goods.
After the early years of hardship had passed, the colonists began to
acquire possessions for a more pleasant living; and by 1650 the better
houses were equipped with most of the necessities of life of those
times, as well as a few luxuries of comfortable living.
FURNITURE
Very little furniture was brought over from England during the early
years of the colony. Perhaps a few chests and Bible boxes were imported,
but most of the large pieces of furniture, such as tables, chairs,
bedsteads, chests-of-drawers, cupboards, benches, and cradles would
have been made in Virginia. Woods commonly used included pine, cedar,
walnut, maple, and oak.
[Illustration: FURNITURE HARDWARE AND ACCESSORIES FOUND. MUCH OF THE
FURNITURE USED IN THE JAMESTOWN HOUSES WAS MADE IN VIRGINIA.]
Furniture hardware and accessories excavated at Jamestown include
hinges, locks, drawer pulls, chest handles, escutcheon plates,
upholstering tacks, hasps, and finials. Most of the furniture hardware
is of brass (probably used after 1650). Since much of it is skillfully
decorated, it is believed that it once was attached to furniture of high
quality. Furniture used during the first two decades of the settlement,
however, must have been simple with little or no ornamentation.
LIGHTING DEVICES
The candle, made of either tallow or bayberry wax, was the standard
lighting device at Jamestown. Pine torches were often used out of doors,
and rushlights and candlewood were undoubtedly used in the humbler
dwellings during the very early years of the settlement. Candlesticks
unearthed at Jamestown include a large brass pricket holder, one made of
English sgraffito-ware, several incomplete earthenware holders, and
parts of delftware candlesticks. Many fragments of brass and iron
candlesticks, as well as a few candle snuffers, have also been
recovered.
[Illustration: BOTH BRASS AND POTTERY CANDLESTICKS HAVE BEEN FOUND. THE
CANDLE WAS THE STANDARD LIGHTING DEVICE DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.]
FIREPLACE ACCESSORIES
The fireplace, around which the family gathered, was one of the most
important features in the Jamestown home. Its fire offered warmth in
winter, afforded light at night, and cooked the family meals during the
day. An oven, usually found at the back or at one side of the fireplace,
baked the family bread and other foods. About the fireplace, many home
chores were carried out, including spinning and sewing; and not far from
the glow of the burning logs the children learned their daily lessons
and received their early religious training. Social activities were
enjoyed about the hearth, especially during the long winter evenings;
and when a member of the family was ill, the fireplace and its
accessories were in constant use. The fireplace was the first place
visited by the housewife in the early morning, and was usually the last
place where she performed her household duties late at night.
A fine assortment of fireplace tools and accessories have been found at
Jamestown, including iron tongs, shovels, andirons, parts of brass
warming-pans, and a large fragment from a cast-iron fireback. One early
17th-century andiron recovered is attractively decorated with a cherub's
head in relief.
[Illustration: A FEW FIREPLACE TOOLS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY ANDIRON IN THE JAMESTOWN
COLLECTION. NOTE THE CHERUB'S HEAD NEAR THE BASE.]
COOKING UTENSILS AND ACCESSORIES
A large and varied assortment of cooking utensils and kitchen
accessories have been excavated, including kettles, pots, pans,
skillets, frying pans, toasters, broilers, griddles, skimmers, skewers,
spits, ladles, pothooks, trammels, cranes, trivets, cleavers, knives and
forks, sieves, and colanders. While only a few are complete others are
almost complete or at least easily recognizable.
During the early years of the colony, people in England who planned to
emigrate to Jamestown were advised to bring the following "Household
implements: One Iron Pot, One Kettle, One large frying-pan, One
gridiron, Two skillets, One Spit, Platters, dishes, spoones of wood."
With the exception of the wooden items, all of the utensils listed have
been excavated.
[Illustration: A WROUGHT-IRON TRAMMEL USED FOR HANGING A POT FROM A
FIREPLACE CRANE. THE ADJUSTABLE HOOK MADE IT POSSIBLE TO RAISE OR LOWER
THE POT.]
[Illustration: AN IRON POT AND POT FRAGMENT UNEARTHED AT
JAMESTOWN--TYPES USED DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.]
[Illustration: MANY EARTHENWARE VESSELS FOUND WERE USED FOR COOKING
PURPOSES, INCLUDING BAKING DISHES, THREE-LEGGED POTS, AND COVERED POTS.]
[Illustration: A FEW KITCHEN UTENSILS AND ACCESSORIES EXCAVATED AT
JAMESTOWN: A LADLE, BRASS PAN, KNIFE BLADES, FORK, KETTLE FRAGMENTS,
SPOUT, COLANDER FRAGMENTS, AND POT HOOKS.]
[Illustration: A FAMILY ENJOYING A MEAL, ABOUT 1650. MANY OF THE EATING
AND DRINKING VESSELS PORTRAYED, TOGETHER WITH MUCH OF THE TABLEWARE, ARE
TYPES WHICH HAVE BEEN EXCAVATED. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E.
King.)]
Table Accessories
In the small houses at Jamestown the kitchen also served as the dining
room. During the early years, many settlers probably ate with wooden
spoons out of wooden bowls and trenchers, and drank from mugs made of
horn, wood, or leather. As the colony became well established, these
crude utensils and vessels were used less frequently and were gradually
replaced with ones made of pottery, metalware, and glassware. None of
the perishable woodenware, horn, or leather items have been found at
Jamestown, but a large assortment of more durable objects used at the
table have been recovered. Space permits only brief descriptions of the
more common types unearthed.
KNIVES, FORKS, AND SPOONS
The table knives found at Jamestown vary in length from 6-3/8 to 8-1/4
inches. Most of them have either bone or ivory handles, although 3 have
embossed brass handles; and 1, found in a late 17th-century well, has an
exquisite handle of banded agate.
The forks in the collection also have bone or ivory handles, the
majority displaying 2 steel prongs, or tines. The number of prongs,
however, is no positive identification of any particular period, as many
English forks of the mid-17th century had 3 prongs, and a few had 4
prongs.
Types of spoons excavated include seal-heads, slipped ends, "puritans,"
and trifids. The majority were made of either pewter or latten metal (a
brasslike alloy), although 3 in the collection were made of silver. The
earliest spoons found have rounded bowls and 6-sided stems (handles),
whereas those made after 1650 usually have oval bowls and flat, 4-sided
handles. One of the silver spoons, with rounded bowl and slipped end,
bears the initials of its owner, "WC/E," on the slipped end of the
handle. This spoon appears to have been made between 1600 and 1625, and
is still in excellent condition.
The most important spoon in the Jamestown collection, and one of the
most significant objects excavated, is an incomplete pewter spoon--a
variant of the trifid, or split-end, type common during the 1650-90
period. Impressed on the handle (in the trefoil finial of the stem) is
the mark of the maker, giving his name, the Virginia town where he
worked, and the year he started business. This is the sole surviving
"touch" or mark of an American pewterer of the 17th century. The
complete legend, encircling a heart, reads: "IOSEPH
COPELAND/1675/CHUCKATUCK." (Chuckatuck is a small Virginia village in
Nansemond County, about 30 miles southeast of Jamestown.) Joseph
Copeland later moved to Jamestown where he was caretaker of the
statehouse from 1688-91. He may have made pewter in Virginia's first
capital. His matchless spoon found in the old Jamestown soil is the
oldest dated piece of American-made pewter in existence.
POTTERY AND PORCELAIN
The largest and most representative collection of 17th-century European
and early American pottery which has been excavated in America is on
exhibition at Jamestown. Thousands of fragments of colorful types have
been found, and by the exercise of extreme care and patience, museum
technicians have pieced together many early specimens. These examples
reveal the kinds of pottery used in the wilderness settlement over three
centuries ago. Included in this ceramic collection are pitchers, bowls,
jugs, cups, mugs, porringers, milk pans, jars, plates and dishes, pots,
and platters. These were used at the table, as well as for the storage
of foods, and for other purposes.
While some of the utilitarian earthenware was made at Jamestown, most of
the pottery that has been found was imported from England. Many types
also came from other European countries, including Germany, Holland,
Italy, Spain, and Portugal. One kind of maiolica may have been made in
Mexico, while the few fragments of porcelain recovered were made in
China.
Because of the great variety and importance of the ceramic collection, a
few of the more representative types will be described briefly.
[Illustration: A FEW KNIVES, FORKS, AND SPOONS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: THE PEWTER SPOON HANDLE AT THE TOP, UNEARTHED AT
JAMESTOWN, IS THE OLDEST DATED PIECE OF AMERICAN PEWTER IN EXISTENCE. IT
WAS MADE BY JOSEPH COPELAND OF CHUCKATUCK, VA., IN 1675. THE SPOON ON
THE BOTTOM IS A CONJECTURAL RESTORATION OF COPELAND'S SPECIMEN.]
[Illustration: A FEW EXAMPLES OF LEAD-GLAZED EARTHENWARE MADE IN ENGLAND
DURING THE 17TH CENTURY. ALL WERE UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: EXAMPLES OF LEAD-GLAZED EARTHENWARE MADE AT JAMESTOWN
ABOUT 1640-50.]
[Illustration: ENGLISH SGRAFFITO, OR SCRATCHED, WARE--ONE OF THE MOST
COLORFUL TYPES OF POTTERY UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: ENGLISH SLIP-DECORATED WARE. ALTHOUGH MADE IN ENGLAND
MAINLY FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION, MANY ATTRACTIVE EXAMPLES WERE SHIPPED TO
VIRGINIA DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.]
Lead-glazed Earthenware.--Most of these vessels were made for
utilitarian purposes, and were usually glazed only on the inside. While
some were made at Jamestown, the majority were imported from England.
One type, a grit-tempered earthenware, was manufactured in North
Devonshire. Another kind, a hard-fired earthenware, was also made in
England. At least two distinct types of local-made earthenware have been
found, and, as many examples have well-proportioned shapes and
attractive designs, it is evident that they were not fashioned by a
young apprentice, but by a trained potter who took pride in shaping his
wares.
English Sgraffito-ware (a slipware).--This colorful pottery, beautifully
decorated with incised designs, is an English earthenware of red or buff
clay on which a slip was applied. Before firing, a decoration was
scratched, stippled, or cut through the slip, exposing the darker color
of the body. The entire piece then received a transparent lead glaze,
either clear or covered with an oxide. The English sgraffito-ware found
at Jamestown was made near Barnstaple, in North Devonshire, probably
after 1640. The reddish-brown floral and geometric designs which
decorate the vessels are unusually attractive against colorful yellow
backgrounds. Sgraffito is an Italian word meaning scratched.
English Slip-decorated-ware.--This colorful English pottery, which was
made for everyday use, is a lead-glazed earthenware decorated with a
liquid clay or slip. The design was usually dropped or trailed upon the
ware from the spout (or quill) of a slip cup, somewhat in the manner a
baker decorates a cake with icing; or it may have been painted over a
large area or placed on in molded pads. Although most of the
slip-decorated-ware found at Jamestown was made in England, there is
some evidence that a few vessels may have been manufactured in America
during the late 17th century.
English Redware with Marbled Slip Decoration.--On this type English
earthenware, which usually has a red body, the liquid slip was marbled
or combed over the surface of the vessel with a toothed instrument of
wire or leather to produce the effect of paper-marbling. Some in the
Jamestown collection appear to have been made as early as 1625.
Italian Maiolica.--Maiolica is a word derived from a type of pottery
made on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The 17th-century Italian
maiolica-ware found at Jamestown is a red-body earthenware with
scratched or incised designs--a true sgraffito-ware. Somewhat similar in
appearance to the English sgraffito-ware, the desired design was
scratched through the cream-colored slip, revealing the reddish-brown
body beneath. On many examples, colorful lines were hand painted over or
near the incised designs, usually in reds, yellows, and greens, and were
covered with a transparent lead glaze.
[Illustration: ENGLISH REDWARE WITH MARBLED SLIP DECORATION, 1625-50
PERIOD OR EARLIER, UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: LATE 17TH-CENTURY ITALIAN MAIOLICA BOWLS EXCAVATED AT
JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: A FEW EXAMPLES OF ENGLISH DELFTWARE IN THE JAMESTOWN
COLLECTION.]
[Illustration]
Delftware.--This is a soft pottery covered with an opaque white tin
glaze, and decorated with hand-painted designs, usually in blues and
purples. A few specimens excavated are embellished with pleasing
patterns in polychrome colors. Most of the delftware unearthed at
Jamestown was made in England (Lambeth, Southwark, and Bristol),
although a few examples were imported from Holland.
Spanish Maiolica.--This maiolica is a tin-glazed earthenware with a soft
body usually buff in color and porous in texture. The colorful
decorations were hand painted on the absorbent surface--usually in
greens, blues, yellows, and reddish-browns, against a white background.
Some small Spanish jugs in the collection bear very crude dark-red
floral designs painted against a cream-colored background. A few
examples of maiolica found at Jamestown are believed to have been made
in Lisbon, and these usually have designs in blues and dark purples
against a white background.
Salt-glazed Stoneware.--This common but attractive type of pottery found
in many excavations at Jamestown includes mugs, jars, bottles, tankards,
and jugs. It is a very hard ware which was fired at high temperatures
and finished with a salt glaze, formed by throwing common salt into the
furnace. The surface of the body has a pitted appearance resembling an
orange peel, and is covered with a thin, glasslike coating. Most of the
salt-glazed stoneware unearthed was made in Germany, although a small
amount was manufactured in England.
[Illustration: COLORFUL SPANISH MAIOLICA FOUND WHICH APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN
MADE BEFORE 1650.]
[Illustration: A LARGE GERMAN STONEWARE JUG UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN. THE
DATE "1661" APPEARS ABOVE THE MEDALLION.]
[Illustration: A FEW EXAMPLES OF GERMAN SALT-GLAZED STONEWARE IN THE
JAMESTOWN COLLECTION. ALL WERE MADE DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.]
[Illustration: RECONSTRUCTED WINEGLASSES AND WINEGLASS FRAGMENTS IN THE
JAMESTOWN COLLECTION.]
[Illustration: NOTE THE MAKERS' MARKS OR SEALS ON THE WINEGLASS
FRAGMENTS. ONLY A FEW ENGLISH WINEGLASSES BEARING 17TH-CENTURY MAKERS'
SEALS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN AMERICA.]
METALWARE EATING AND DRINKING VESSELS
While large numbers of eating and drinking vessels made of pottery have
been excavated on Jamestown Island, only a few fragments of utensils
made of silver, pewter, brass, and copper were found. Metalware vessels
were relatively scarce during the early years of the settlement, and
their almost complete absence in the Jamestown collection may be
attributed to the fact that not many of them were discarded, regardless
of their worn condition. Only a few metal handles from mugs and cups,
and a small number of pewter plate fragments, have been excavated.
Although no complete specimens of domestic silver and pewter eating and
drinking vessels were found, 17th-century records and inventories
indicate that many Jamestown families owned such wares (especially after
1630), including cups, beakers, dishes, salts, salvers, tankards,
porringers, bowls, and plates.
It is of interest that 2 goldsmiths, 2 refiners, and a jeweler arrived
at Jamestown in 1608 aboard the supply ship _Phoenix_. Although John
Smith related that these artisans "never had occasion to exercise their
craft," it is possible that they made a few metal objects (such as
spoons) in the capital city.
GLASS DRINKING VESSELS
Glass was made at Jamestown in 1608-09, and again in 1621-24. It was, in
all probability, the first commodity made by the English in a "factory"
in the New World. Many glass fragments were found at the furnace site,
but none was large enough to reveal what specific glass objects were
made there. It appears that drinking glasses may have been among the
items manufactured.
The majority of the glass drinking vessels unearthed at Jamestown were
made in England, although a few were manufactured in Germany, Italy, and
the Low Countries. In the collection are fragments from goblets,
beakers, bowls, and wineglasses. Four of the English wineglass stems
bear makers' seals, rare marks seldom found on English drinking vessels.
GLASS WINE AND GIN BOTTLES
These comprise a large and important part of the Jamestown collection.
Literally thousands of glass fragments from these bottles have been
unearthed, and by diligent and patient work a few complete wine and gin
bottles have been pieced together.
The glass wine bottles were made in England. The oldest excavated, made
between 1640 and 1660, have spherical bodies and tall necks. Those made
between 1660 and 1680 have cup-shaped bodies with short necks. Of the
period between 1680 and 1700 the neck is very short and the body is wide
and squat. Insofar as is known, no glass wine bottles were used at
Jamestown before 1640.
[Illustration: GLASS WINE BOTTLES UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN RANGING IN DATE
FROM 1640 TO 1690. THOUSANDS OF FRAGMENTS OF THESE BOTTLES HAVE BEEN
RECOVERED.]
[Illustration: AN ASSORTMENT OF GLASS BOTTLE SEALS IN THE JAMESTOWN
COLLECTION. SOME OF THE WEALTHY PLANTERS HAD THEIR INITIALS (OR OTHER
ORNAMENTAL DEVICE) STAMPED ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE WINE BOTTLES WHICH
THEY ORDERED FROM ENGLAND.]
[Illustration: THIS DUTCH GIN BOTTLE EXCAVATED AT JAMESTOWN WAS IMPORTED
FROM HOLLAND.]
About 1650 the practice of affixing glass seals or buttons on the
shoulders of English wine bottles was begun. The seal was inscribed with
a name, or initials, or a date; sometimes a coat of arms or a crest, or
other device or ornament. Many of these glass bottle seals have been
found at Jamestown. As a rule, only the wealthy and influential planters
had seals stamped on their wine bottles.
Gin bottles found at Jamestown are tall and square with thin glass
sides. Imported from Holland, many were made as early as 1625. One gin
bottle was miraculously unearthed intact, and not as much as a chip or
crack was found on this 300-year-old fragile specimen.
FOOD STORAGE VESSELS AND FACILITIES
Many earthenware jars, pots, bowls, and jugs excavated at Jamestown were
used for the storage of foods. Wooden and wicker containers were also
used, although because of their perishable nature none was unearthed.
Seventeenth-century inventories list many of these perishable storage
items, including casks, barrels, hogsheads, tubs, bins, and baskets.
Leather bottles are also mentioned in a few early records.
[Illustration: EARTHENWARE VESSELS USED FOR THE STORAGE OF FOODS. SOME
WERE MADE AT JAMESTOWN, SOME WERE IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND.]
[Illustration: "HARVESTING" ICE, ABOUT 1650. ARCHEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS
REVEALED THAT ICEHOUSES WERE BUILT ON THE HISTORIC ISLAND OVER 300 YEARS
AGO. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)]
A brick-lined storage compartment was found in the cellar (below floor
level) of one of the 17th-century buildings. It was used, undoubtedly,
for the storage of such easily spoiled foods as milk, cheese, eggs, and
cream. Wine, too, was probably kept in bottles in the cool compartment,
as many broken bottles were found inside.
An extremely important discovery was a large, deep, ice-storage pit,
believed to be the only 17th-century ice pit which has been excavated in
Virginia. The conjectural painting on page 48 shows its probable
appearance when in use about 1650. Ice-storage pits held dairy products,
meats, and other spoilable foods as well as ice. Pond ice was usually
cut and stored in the pit in late winter. Sometimes it lasted until late
summer or early autumn.
Clothing and Footwear
The Jamestown settlers of the middle class were usually dressed in hard
wearing, rough clothes made of homespun material, with a slightly better
(and perhaps more colorful) costume for Sunday and holiday wear. In 1622
each Englishman who planned to emigrate to Jamestown was advised to
supply himself with the following wearing apparel:
"One Monmouth cap [a flat, round cap].
Three falling bands [a neckband or collar of a shirt which turned
down over the shoulders].
Three shirts.
One waste-coate.
One suite of Canvase [a suit made of coarse cloth, such as cotton,
hemp, tow, or jute].
One suite of Frize [a woolen fabric with a nap].
One suite of Cloth.
Three paire of Irish stockins.
Foure paire of shooes.
One paire of garters.
One doozen of points [a point was a tie or string ending with an
anglet and used to join parts of a costume as doublet and hose]."
The women wore plain frocks and petticoats, although a few of the
wealthy ladies owned silk, satin, and velvet dresses. Bodices, as a
rule, were long pointed, and skirts were full and long.
Perhaps the most unique items of wearing apparel recovered at Jamestown
were several leather shoe soles and two almost-complete shoes, found in
a dirtlined well in association with artifacts of the 1625-50 period.
[Illustration: FOR EVERYDAY USE THE JAMESTOWN SETTLERS WORE HARDWEARING
CLOTHES MADE OF HOMESPUN CLOTH. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
Other objects unearthed relating to wearing apparel and costume
accessories, include an excellent assortment of buckles, buttons, and
brass eyelets. Items in the collection which were used in the mending of
clothes include needles, pins, and thimbles (both brass and silver).
[Illustration: A LEATHER SHOE AND SEVERAL LEATHER SHOE SOLES WERE
UNCOVERED IN AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY WELL.]
[Illustration: A FEW BUCKLES AND BUTTONS IN THE JAMESTOWN COLLECTION.
MANY ARE OVER 300 YEARS OLD.]
[Illustration: HOMESPUN CLOTHES WERE SELDOM DISCARDED. THE MANY PINS,
NEEDLES, AND THIMBLES FOUND REVEAL THAT MENDING WAS A NEVER-ENDING CHORE
FOR THE BUSY HOUSEWIFE.]
[Illustration: AN ASSORTMENT OF CARPENTERS' TOOLS UNEARTHED AT
JAMESTOWN. MOST OF THEM WERE USED OVER THREE CENTURIES AGO.]
[Illustration: THE JAMESTOWN COOPER WAS A BUSY CRAFTSMAN. MANY BARRELS,
HOGSHEADS, AND CASKS WERE NEEDED IN THE COLONY, AND LARGE QUANTITIES OF
BARREL STAVES WERE MADE FOR SHIPPING TO ENGLAND. (Painting by Sidney E.
King.)]
Artisans and Craftsmen
Numerous objects recovered at Jamestown are extremely important as they
reveal the kinds of craftsmen and artisans who worked in Virginia's
first capital, the nature of their tools and equipment, and examples of
their handiwork.
THE CARPENTER
Scores of tools used by the men who helped build the Jamestown houses
have been unearthed, including chisels, augers, gouges, hammers,
reamers, saw fragments, bits, axes and hatchets, plane blades, gimlets,
files, calipers, compasses, scribers, nail pulls, and a saw wrest. A
grindstone was found in a refuse pit not far from the historic church
tower.
THE COOPER
Some tools used by the cooper, including draw shaves, adzes, plane
irons, and race knives, have been excavated. Several barrel
staves--probably made at Jamestown--were found in a few wells. Because
of the great demand for barrels, casks, and hogsheads (both in Virginia
and England) the Jamestown cooper was a busy artisan. His products were
needed at all times, especially after 1620 when the Virginia settlers
began shipping large quantities of tobacco to England in wooden
hogsheads.
[Illustration: TIMBERING--ONE OF THE FIRST ENGLISH INDUSTRIES IN THE NEW
WORLD. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY, TWO-MAN, CROSSCUT SAW.]
THE WOODCUTTER AND SAWYER
Numerous tools found on Jamestown Island relate to timbering, including
felling axes, hewing axes, hatchets, saws, and wedges. An early
17th-century two-man crosscut saw has been recovered almost intact.
Records indicate that pit saws were used, although none has been
excavated.
THE IRONWORKER
A small, primitive hearth or furnace, where small amounts of iron may
have been smelted during the early part of the 17th century, was
uncovered during archeological explorations in 1955. A few miles upriver
from Jamestown, at Falling Creek, the English built their first iron
furnace in America in 1620-21. Iron was smelted in the furnace, and a
few tools were forged--the first iron objects made in the New World by
the English. In 1622 the Indians massacred the ironworkers and their
families, and destroyed the furnace. Although it was never rebuilt, its
importance cannot be overstressed, for the Falling Creek site can
rightfully claim the honor of being the birthplace of the American iron
industry.
[Illustration: A FEW OF MANY TOOLS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE
USED FOR TIMBERING: FELLING AXES, A HEWING AXE, ADZE, HATCHET, WEDGE,
AND SAW FRAGMENT.]
[Illustration: MAKING "TRIALLS" OF IRON. EVIDENCES OF AN EARTH OVEN OR
SMALL FURNACE WERE DISCOVERED AT JAMESTOWN DURING ARCHEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS. SMALL AMOUNTS OF IRON MAY HAVE BEEN SMELTED IN THE FURNACE
DURING THE EARLY YEARS OF THE SETTLEMENT. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney
E. King.)]
THE BLACKSMITH
In 1955, archeologists discovered the remnants of an early 17th-century
forge. At the site, blacksmith's tools, bar iron, sword guards,
unfinished iron objects, and slag were found. This gave evidence that a
blacksmith once plied his trade only a few yards west of the ancient
brick church. Many blacksmiths worked at Jamestown (there was one among
the first group of settlers). In the Jamestown collection are many tools
which they left behind, including pliers, pincers, chisels, punches,
hammers, and a small anvil.
THE BOATBUILDER
Many small boats were built at Jamestown. They were built by English
shipwrights and carpenters, who came from a long line of efficient
craftsmen. These small vessels afforded the principal means of
transportation through the uncharted wilderness tidewaters of Virginia.
They were used for fishing, trade, and discovery. A few small
handwrought iron tools used by Jamestown boatbuilders have been
excavated on the historic island.
THE POTTER
In 1955 a pottery kiln site was discovered at Jamestown. Nearby were
found many utilitarian earthenware vessels of the 1625-40
period--definite evidence that pottery was made in Virginia over 300
years ago. Although made for everyday use, many of the pieces unearthed
are symmetrical and not entirely lacking in beauty. The unknown
Jamestown potters were artisans, trained in the mysteries of an ancient
craft, who first transplanted their skills to the Virginia wilderness.
[Illustration: OBJECTS FOUND AT A 17TH-CENTURY FORGE SITE AT JAMESTOWN:
BLACKSMITH'S TOOLS, BAR IRON, A FEW INCOMPLETE ITEMS, SWORD GUARDS, AND
SLAG. IT APPEARS THAT THE FORGE WAS IN OPERATION AS EARLY AS 1625.]
[Illustration: BUILDING A SMALL BOAT AT JAMESTOWN ABOUT 1650. (Painting
by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: BOAT-BUILDING TOOLS FOUND, ALL MADE BEFORE 1700.]
[Illustration: EARTHENWARE VESSELS MADE AT JAMESTOWN BETWEEN 1625 AND
1640. THE SITE OF AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY POTTERY KILN WAS DISCOVERED ON
THE ISLAND IN 1955.]
[Illustration: MAKING POTTERY AT JAMESTOWN, ABOUT 1625-40. (Painting by
Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: ARTIFACTS FOUND NEAR THE SITE OF THE JAMESTOWN GLASSHOUSE
WHICH WAS IN OPERATION AS EARLY AS 1608: A SMALL MELTING POT, PART OF A
WORKING HOLE, FRAGMENT FROM LARGE MELTING POT, CULLET (BROKEN OR REFUSE
GLASS SHOWN IN LOWER LEFT CORNER), AND GREEN GLASS FRAGMENTS (LOWER
CENTER AND LOWER RIGHT).]
[Illustration: BLOWING GLASS AT JAMESTOWN IN 1608. (Conjectural sketch
by Sidney E. King.)]
THE GLASSBLOWER
Glassblowers were working at Jamestown in 1608-09, and again in 1621-24.
The trial glass they made in 1608 was sent to England--the first glass
manufactured by Englishmen in the New World. The small glass fragments
excavated at the furnace sites do not reveal what was produced, but
probably nothing more complicated than window glass, bottles and vials,
and plain drinking glasses. It is believed that the small glass factory
at Jamestown was the first English "factory" in America.
THE BRICKMAKER AND TILEMAKER
Four brick kilns have been excavated. In two of them roofing tile and
bricks were found. An iron spade, probably used in preparing the clay
for brickmaking, was found in one of the kilns. The oldest kiln
unearthed is believed to have been in use as early as 1625. Many
brickmakers emigrated to Jamestown during the 1600's.
THE LIMEBURNER
Four lime kilns were unearthed on the historic island, where oyster
shells from the James River were burned and converted into lime by the
limeburner. As early as 1610 "lymeburners" emigrated to Virginia, and
thereafter many such workers came to the colony from England.
[Illustration: FOUR BRICK KILNS HAVE BEEN EXCAVATED. THE ONE SHOWN HAD
FIVE FIRING CHAMBERS. ROOFING TILES WERE ALSO MADE IN THE JAMESTOWN
BRICK KILNS.]
[Illustration: A 17TH-CENTURY LIME KILN EXCAVATED AT JAMESTOWN. IN IT
OYSTER SHELLS FROM THE JAMES RIVER WERE BURNED FOR MAKING LIME. THE IRON
HOOPS WHICH SUPPORTED THE ARCHED TOP OF THE KILN BUCKLED FROM THE
INTENSE HEAT.]
[Illustration: MAKING LIME FROM OYSTER SHELLS IN A KILN, ABOUT 1625.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
OTHER CRAFTSMEN
Contemporary records, confirmed by certain objects found at Jamestown
(especially small tools), reveal that pewterers, silversmiths colliers,
wheelwrights, calkers, bricklayers, millwrights, shoemakers, masons,
cordage makers, tanners, tobacco pipemakers, armorers, gunmakers,
braziers, and others worked in the capital city at various periods
between 1607 and 1699.
[Illustration: A SILVERSMITH WEIGHING CLIPPED COINS. (Conjectural sketch
by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: BRASS WEIGHTS AND A PIECE OF SCRAP BRASS UNEARTHED AT
JAMESTOWN. RECORDS INDICATE THAT MANY METALWORKERS EMIGRATED TO VIRGINIA
DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.]
Home Industries
During archeological explorations many artifacts relating to household
and town industries were recovered. It is believed that many of these
small industries were home activities carried on in the houses at
Jamestown. A few of these activities, and the products of them are
mentioned briefly.
SPINNING AND WEAVING
A few metal parts from spinning wheels and looms have been
excavated--reminders that the pioneer housewife who spun the thread and
yarn, and wove the cloth for her large family, was seldom idle.
MALTING AND BREWING
One Jamestown building or house (whose brick foundations were discovered
in 1955) appears to have been used for malting and brewing beer and ale,
or carrying out some activity requiring distillation. A few pieces of
lead were found which may have been part of a lead cistern for holding
barley. The three brick ovens that were uncovered may have been used
as drying kilns. A handle from a copper kettle was found near one of the
ovens, and pieces of copper and lead pipes were unearthed not far from
the building. The structure itself appears to have been used between
1625 and 1660.
[Illustration: SPINNING THREAD OR YARN AND WEAVING CLOTH WERE ENDLESS
CHORES FOR THE WOMEN LIVING IN THE SMALL WILDERNESS SETTLEMENT.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: BREWING BEER AT JAMESTOWN. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney
E. King.)]
DAIRYING AND CHEESEMAKING
Earthenware milk pans, bowls and pots, iron hoops (from wooden vessels),
an earthenware funnel, and parts of skimmers, sieves, and ladles have
been excavated. All these are evidence that dairying was an important
household industry. This activity was usually carried on in a
brick-paved room (with slatted windows) located on the northwest side of
the house. Cheese, as well as butter, was probably made in the same
room.
[Illustration: LEAD AND COPPER PIPES, KETTLE FRAGMENTS, A BRASS SPIGOT,
AND OTHER ITEMS FOUND WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN USED FOR BREWING OR DISTILLING
PURPOSES.]
BAKING
One of the largest objects that has been found is an earthenware baking
oven, which was unearthed in an old ditch near the site of the
May-Hartwell House. Restored from over 200 fragments, the oven was
probably used between 1650 and 1690. It may have been made at Jamestown,
molded of native clay and fired in a pottery kiln. In use, heated stones
were placed inside the oven and left until the walls were hot enough for
baking. Sometimes, however, the oven may have been placed directly on
the embers of the fire. It undoubtedly was used out of doors, near a
small house.
ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES
A few artifacts that have been recovered are associated with millers,
drapers, basketmakers, cutlers, tailors, barbers, netmakers, and
glovers. These tradesmen usually worked in or near their homes.
[Illustration: EARTHENWARE MILK PAN, BRASS LADLE, FUNNEL FRAGMENT, AND
OTHER ITEMS FOUND WHICH RELATE TO DAIRYING AND CHEESEMAKING.]
[Illustration: BAKING BREAD IN AN OUTDOOR BAKING OVEN ABOUT 1650.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: IN THIS OVEN A JAMESTOWN WOMAN BAKED BREAD OVER 300 YEARS
AGO. IT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN IN USE BETWEEN 1650 AND 1690.]
[Illustration: JAMESTOWN SOLDIERS CARRYING POLEARMS (A HALBERD AND A
BILL). (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
Military Equipment
The vast assemblage of military equipment that has been unearthed
(probably the largest collection of late 16th-and 17th-century English
weapons used in America) emphasizes the important part which firearms
and other weapons played during the early years of the settlement. They
helped the colonists to protect themselves from the ever-menacing Indian
and from the Spaniards who might at anytime have sailed up the James
River to attack the small colony. They were also the means of providing
the settlers with much of their food.
During the early years of the colony each Englishman who planned to
emigrate to Virginia was advised to supply himself with the following
"Armes":
"One Armour compleat, light.
One long Peece, five foot or five and a halfe, neere
Musket bore.
One sword.
One bandaleere [a bandoleer was a belt worn to carry the
cases which held the powder charges].
Twenty pound of powder.
Sixty pound of shot or lead, Pistoll and Goose shot."
Most of the kinds of arms listed have been found at Jamestown and will
be described briefly along with other types of weapons which were
unearthed.
POLEARMS
Parts from several polearms, including bills, pikes, and a halberd, have
been excavated. The recovered halberd (a polearm with sharp cutting
edges and a spearlike point) is typical of the late 16th century, and
may have been made as early as 1575. A few bills were unearthed, all
dating around 1600. (A bill is a polearm, having a long staff
terminating in a hook-shaped blade, usually with spikes at the back and
top.) Two pike butts were also unearthed.
[Illustration: TWO EARLY 17TH-CENTURY POLEARMS--A BILL AND
HALBERD--UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN. BOTH WEAPONS HAD LONG WOODEN HANDLES.]
[Illustration: THE CALTROP UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN. THIS SHARP-POINTED
INSTRUMENT WAS THROWN ON THE GROUND TO IMPEDE AN ENEMY'S INFANTRY AND
CAVALRY.]
CALTROP
This small item unearthed at Jamestown is an instrument with 4 iron
points, so arranged that no matter how it lands, 1 point always projects
upward, to impede the progress of an enemy's cavalry and to prevent
surprise attacks.
SWORDS, RAPIERS, AND CUTLASSES
Types of swords that have been found include broadswords, cutlasses or
back swords, and rapiers. Three examples are complete, or nearly so--a
cutlass, a broadsword, and a swept-hilt rapier. Many basket hilts were
unearthed together with guards from other type swords, pommels, and
blade fragments. A number of these edged weapons were made between 1600
and 1625. Several basket-hilted guards and blade fragments were found at
the site of an early 17th-century forge, which may have been an
armorer's workshop.
CANNON
One small cannon barrel fragment, possibly from a light cannon known as
a robinet, has been unearthed (the bore at the end of the barrel is only
1-1/4 inches across). A varied assortment of 17th-century cannon balls
have also been found, appropriate sizes for such ordnance as
demiculverines, sakers, minions, and falcons.
[Illustration: FIRING A DEMICULVERINE FROM A BASTION AT "JAMES FORT."
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: HILT AND PORTION OF BLADE OF A SWEPT-HILT RAPIER
EXCAVATED AT JAMESTOWN OF THE 1600-1610 PERIOD.]
MUSKETS
An excellent assemblage of 17th-century musket barrels and gun parts
have been recovered from the Jamestown soil, reminiscent of times when
Indians attempted to wipe out the small settlement.
Among the gunlocks found are matchlocks, wheel-locks, snaphaunces,
"doglocks," and flintlocks. The first settlers were equipped with both
wheel-lock and matchlock muskets. Some of the muskets were so heavy,
they required a forked ground-rest to shoot (parts of two forked
ground-rests have been excavated). Other muskets, like the caliver, were
light, and could be fired without the use of a support.
The standard musket during the early years of the settlement was the
matchlock. By 1625, however, the picture had changed, for the
wheel-lock, snaphaunce, and "doglock," were being used in large numbers,
and the matchlock had become obsolete.
PISTOLS
Only a few pistol barrels and parts have been unearthed. One pistol
barrel is attractively ornamented with silver bands.
LIGHT ARMOR AND SIEGE HELMET
A breastplate and backpiece from a light suit of armor (probably a
pikeman's suit) were found in a refuse pit. These interesting specimens
were probably made in England during the 1600-20 period.
In 1953, Sgt. Floyd E. Painter found an English siege helmet (1600-40
period) 4 miles down the river from Jamestown Island.
[Illustration: A JAMESTOWN SENTRY ON DUTY SHOULDERING HIS HEAVY
MATCHLOCK MUSKET. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: EARLY MUSKET BARREL AND GUN PARTS EXCAVATED AT
JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: BREASTPLATE FROM A LIGHT SUIT OF ARMOR FOUND IN A REFUSE
PIT. THIS WAS ONE TYPE USED BETWEEN 1600 AND 1640.]
[Illustration: A HEAVY SIEGE HELMET FOUND 4 MILES DOWNRIVER FROM
JAMESTOWN. WEIGHING OVER 8 POUNDS, IT WAS ONE TYPE USED IN EUROPE DURING
THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 17TH CENTURY.]
[Illustration: THE EARLY JAMESTOWN SETTLERS WERE ADVISED TO EQUIP
THEMSELVES WITH "ONE ARMOUR COMPLEAT, LIGHT." (Conjectural sketch by
Sidney E. King.)]
Farming
The first settlers brought seeds from England, and planted wheat 2 weeks
after landing at Jamestown.
The early Virginians successfully grew many kinds of crops: grains
(wheat, Indian corn, barley, oats, and rye), vegetables (peas, beans,
turnips, parsley, onions, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots,
parsnips, lettuce, and others), and fruits (apples, peaches, apricots,
quince, figs, grapes, and melons).
The colonists planted Indian corn as early as 1609, and cultivated many
other Indian foods, including pumpkins, beans, and squash. They
cultivated tobacco (an Indian plant) as early as 1612, and during the
remainder of the century it was the most profitable crop grown. For many
years it was the economic salvation of the struggling colony.
Attempts were made by the early colonists to grow other crops which, for
various reasons, did not thrive at Jamestown. Some plants, like bananas,
pineapple, citrus fruits, and pomegranates, could not withstand the cold
Virginia winters. Other plants, including rice, cotton, indigo,
sugarcane, flax, hemp, and olives, did not grow vigorously for one
reason or another, and repeated efforts to cultivate them usually
resulted in failure. Mulberry trees grew well at Jamestown (the leaves
were used to feed silk worms), but attempts to make silk were not
successful commercially.
[Illustration: TOOLS USED IN THE CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO OVER 300 YEARS
AGO. THESE TOOLS--HOE, BILLHOOK, AND CUTTING KNIVES--WERE EXCAVATED AT
JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: CULTIVATING A SMALL GARDEN IN VIRGINIA. (Conjectural
sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: A FEW FARM TOOLS USED BY AN EARLY SETTLER FOR CULTIVATING
HIS NEWLY CLEARED LAND.]
[Illustration: FISHING PROVIDED FOOD AS WELL AS RECREATION FOR THE
COLONISTS. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: A FEW OF THE MANY ARTIFACTS RELATING TO FISHING UNEARTHED
AT JAMESTOWN: FISHHOOKS, FISH-GIGS, AND LEAD NET WEIGHTS.]
Handtools used by the Jamestown farmers during the 17th-century have
been found in abundance. These include axes, picks, billhooks,
pitchforks, spades, rakes, mattocks, sickles, scythes, broad hoes,
narrow hoes, and shovels.
Only a few parts belonging to heavy farming implements have been
unearthed, including a few ploughshares and small metal fragments from
wagons, carts, and harrows.
Fishing
When the first settlers planted their small colony at Jamestown, the
tidewater rivers and bays and the Atlantic Ocean bordering the Virginia
coast teemed with many kinds of fish and shellfish which were both
edible and palatable. Varieties which the colonists soon learned to eat
included sheepshead, shad, sturgeon, herring, sole, white salmon, bass,
flounder, pike, bream, perch, rock, and drum, as well as oysters,
crabs, and mussels. Seafood was an important source of food for the
colonists, and at times, especially during the early years of the
settlement, it was the main source.
Those in England who planned to go to Virginia were always advised to
provide themselves (among other items) with nets, fishhooks, and lines.
During archeological explorations, fishhooks, lead net weights,
fish-gigs, and small anchors were uncovered. These are reminders of a
day when fish and shellfish were abundant in every tidewater Virginia
creek, river, and bay.
Health
Keeping well and healthy, even managing to stay alive in the unfamiliar
Virginia wilderness during the first two decades of the Jamestown
settlement, was no easy matter. In the group of 105 original settlers,
67 died during the first 8 months. During the hard winter of 1609-10
(known as the "starving time"), the population dwindled from 500 to
about 60 as a result of sickness, Indian attacks, and famine.
One of the members of the first colony was a surgeon, William Wilkinson
by name. As the colony grew, other surgeons, physicians, and
apothecaries, emigrated to Virginia. Their lot was not easy, for it
appears that they were seldom idle in an island community having more
than its share of "cruell diseases, Swellings, Flixes, Burning Fevers,
warres and meere famine."
During archeological explorations, drug jars, ointment pots, bleeding
bowls, mortars and pestles, small bottles and vials, and parts of
surgical instruments were recovered. These, undoubtedly, were used
countless times at Jamestown by unknown "chirurgions," doctors of
"physickes," and apothecaries--men who tried to keep the colonists well
with their limited medical equipment and scant supply of drugs.
Amusements and Pastimes
The difficult and time-consuming job of conquering the Virginia
wilderness (clearing the land, building homes, planting and harvesting
crops, and warding off Indian attacks) left few hours for leisure and
amusements. There were times, however (especially after the first few
hard years had passed), when a colonist could enjoy himself by smoking
his pipe, playing a game, practicing archery, bowling, playing a musical
instrument, singing a ballad, or taking part in a lively dance.
Excavated artifacts reveal that the settlers enjoyed at least these few
amusements and pastimes.
[Illustration: A PHYSICIAN BLEEDING A PATIENT. (Conjectural sketch by
Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: A FEW ITEMS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE USED BY
DOCTORS AND APOTHECARIES. INCLUDED ARE DRUG JARS, OINTMENT POT, BLEEDING
BOWL, MORTAR AND PESTLE FRAGMENTS, GLASS VIALS, AND PORTIONS OF SURGICAL
INSTRUMENTS.]
[Illustration: ENJOYING A SMOKE IN A TAVERN, ABOUT 1625. (Conjectural
sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: A FEW OF THOUSANDS OF CLAY PIPE FRAGMENTS UNEARTHED AT
JAMESTOWN. THE ONES SHOWN RANGE IN DATE FROM 1600 TO 1700. DURING THIS
100-YEAR PERIOD, PIPES DEVELOPED FROM SMALL BOWLS TO FAIRLY LARGE
ONES.]
SMOKING
The first colonists were quite familiar with the use of tobacco, and it
is believed that many of them smoked clay pipes. Evidently there was
some demand for tobacco pipes by the early planters as one of the men,
Robert Cotten, who reached Jamestown in January 1608, was a tobacco
pipemaker.
In 1611-12 John Rolfe had experimented with tobacco plants in Virginia
(he used Virginia plants as well as varieties from the West Indies and
South America), and was successful in developing a sweet-scented leaf.
It became popular overnight, and for many years was the staple crop of
the infant colony. There was a prompt demand for the new leaf in
England, and its introduction there was an important factor in
popularizing the use of clay pipes. After 1620 the manufacture of white
clay pipes in England increased by leaps and bounds.
It is estimated that there are over 50,000 clay pipe bowls and stem
fragments in the Jamestown collection--perhaps the largest assemblage of
its kind extant. Pipe bowls and stem fragments were found wherever
excavations were made, indicating that the smoking of clay pipes was an
extremely popular custom at Jamestown.
During the 1607-1700 period, pipe-bowls developed in size from small to
fairly large. In most examples that have been found, the early pipes
have larger stem-holes than pipes made during the latter years of the
century.
Although the majority of pipes found at Jamestown were imported from
England, some were made in Holland. Some of the colonists made their
pipes in Virginia from local clay, either by pipemaking machines or by
handmolding. The English and Dutch pipes were white in color, whereas
the local product was brown. As they were fragile, not a single complete
pipe has been unearthed at Jamestown.
[Illustration: HARVESTING TOBACCO AT JAMESTOWN, ABOUT 1650. (Painting by
Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: CHILDRENS' GAMES DEPICTED ON DUTCH DELFTWARE FIREPLACE
TILES ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THE GAMES CHILDREN PLAY TODAY. THE TILES WERE
MADE IN HOLLAND ALMOST 300 YEARS AGO.]
GAMES
A few ivory fragments that have been excavated appear to be parts of
dice and chessmen. Chess was popular during the 17th century, and many
dice games, including even and odd, hazard, passage, mumchance, and
novem were played.
Other games which undoubtedly were played in many Jamestown homes were
tick-tack, backgammon, Irish, and cards. Card games were popular,
especially primero, trump, piquet, saint, and decoy.
Many 17th-century fireplace tiles in the Jamestown collection are
decorated with charming little pictures depicting children's games.
Activities portrayed include skating, bowling, spinning tops, fishing,
rolling hoops, using a yo-yo, swinging, wrestling, skipping rope,
shooting, playing skittles, riding a hobby horse, sledding, boxing, and
playing musical instruments. These pictures remind us that games played
by boys and girls today are very similar to those enjoyed by children
three centuries ago.
[Illustration: ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS REVEALED THAT THE COLONISTS
ENJOYED ARCHERY. THE IRON LEVER SHOWN, KNOWN AS A "GOAT'S FOOT," WAS
USED FOR SETTING THE STRING OF A LIGHT HUNTING CROSSBOW. IT WAS FOUND 4
MILES FROM JAMESTOWN. ILLUSTRATION SHOWING THE USE OF A "GOAT'S FOOT"
FROM _Weapons, A Pictorial History_ BY EDWIN TUNIS.]
ARCHERY AND HUNTING
One interesting item relating to archery has been found 4 miles from
Jamestown. Known as a "goat's foot," it is an iron lever which was used
for pulling back and setting the string of a light hunting crossbow.
Contemporary records indicate that hunting game birds and animals was a
popular New World diversion. Such sport served a twofold purpose, as it
offered recreation to the settler and helped provide food for his table.
Parts of early fowling pieces and numerous lead birdshot (called goose
or swan shot during the early years of the 17th century) have been
recovered.
MUSIC AND DANCING
A large assortment of iron and brass Jew's harps (also known as Jew's
trumps) have been found. This small instrument is lyre-shaped, and when
placed between the teeth gives tones from a bent metal tongue when
struck by the finger. Modulation of tone is produced by changing the
size and shape of the mouth cavity.
As there is no record of spinets, or virginals, having been used at
Jamestown, we have no way of knowing whether such wire-stringed,
keyboard instruments were used in the homes of the more prosperous
planters, together with other musical instruments of the period.
It is quite certain, however, that the Jamestown settlers knew the songs
and ballads which were sung in Great Britain in those days. They were
also familiar with English, Irish, Welsh, and Scotch dances. A few
contemporary accounts reveal that the Virginia colonists enjoyed merry
tunes and ditties, as well as lively dances. Although living in a
wilderness, there were times when they could enjoy a few leisure-hour
activities and amusements, including singing and dancing.
[Illustration: PLAYING A JEW'S HARP--ENJOYING A LITTLE MUSIC IN THE
VIRGINIA WILDERNESS. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: AN ASSORTMENT OF JEW'S HARPS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: A FEW OBJECTS RECOVERED AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE ONCE USED
ON 17TH-CENTURY BOATS--REMINDERS OF A DAY WHEN TRAVEL IN VIRGINIA WAS
LARGELY BY WATER.]
Travel
During the 17th century, travel in Virginia was mainly by boat. As the
roads leading from Jamestown to the nearby settlements were usually in
deplorable condition, especially after heavy rains, the settlers
preferred to travel by water whenever possible. As the colony grew, and
roads were improved somewhat, travel by horse became more common,
especially for short trips. After 1650 the use of wagons increased, and
records indicate that a few of the more prosperous planters imported
fine carriages from England.
BOATS AND SHIPS
Boats used by the settlers varied in size from small flat-bottom boats
to fairly large sailing vessels, and included such types as small
rowboats, pinnaces, barks, bilanders, schooners, ketches, and sloops.
Living on a river, and in a tidewater area of innumerable creeks, bays,
and rivers, practically all of the colonists were familiar with
handling boats of one type or another.
However, only a few objects relating to boats and ships have been
unearthed at Jamestown: small anchors, chains, oar locks, ship bolts and
spikes, and tools used by shipwrights and ships' carpenters.
[Illustration: SOME BITS AND BRIDLE ORNAMENTS IN THE JAMESTOWN
COLLECTION. THE ARTISTIC DESIGNS ON MANY BRIDLE BOSSES ARE SYMBOLIC OF
BEAUTIFUL HANDIWORK PERFORMED BY CRAFTSMEN OF A BYGONE DAY.]
HORSES, WAGONS, AND CARRIAGES
The first English-built road in America (in use by 1608) ran 1 mile from
Jamestown Island to Glasshouse Point. Later, as the colony grew, the
road was extended to Governor Berkeley's plantation, about 4 miles from
Jamestown, and other nearby settlements. There is some evidence that it
was known as the "Old Road" or "Greate Road."
[Illustration: SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY SPUR AND STIRRUP EXCAVATED AT
JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: THIS BRANDING IRON WAS USED BY ONE OF THE COLONISTS
DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SETTLEMENT.]
As early as 1609 "six mares and two horses" were brought to Jamestown.
In 1611, 17 horses and mares arrived, and in 1614, Capt. Samuel Argall
brought several more. Six years later in 1620, 20 horses were shipped
from England. It is most surprising, therefore, that the census of 1625
recorded only 1 horse for the entire colony! By 1649, however, it was
estimated that there were 300 horses in Virginia, and most of the
successful farmers and wealthy planters owned them after 1650. During
the following years, the number of horses increased greatly.
Many well-preserved metal objects relating to horse equipment and riding
gear have been unearthed.
Bits and Bridle Ornaments.--Most bits are of the snaffle variety,
although a few curb bits have been recovered. In those days many bits
had brass bosses attached to their cheek bars, and many of these
attractive ornaments have been unearthed. Some bosses are decorated with
raised designs while others are plain. The majority are made of brass,
although a few iron bosses have been excavated.
Spurs and Stirrups.--A few complete spurs have been excavated. While the
majority are plain iron some brass spurs in the collection are
decorated with very attractive incised or embossed designs. Two or three
of the highly decorated brass spurs are probably of Spanish origin. One
of them, in excellent condition, was found near an early brick kiln.
[Illustration: WROUGHT-IRON HORSESHOES AND CURRYCOMBS USED PRIOR TO
1650.]
[Illustration: SETTLERS TRADING WITH THE INDIANS--BARTERING CASTING
COUNTERS AND OTHER TRADE GOODS FOR FURS. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney
E. King.)]
All stirrups unearthed are made of wrought iron. Some of the steps or
stirrup bars are solid, while others have a single slot.
Horseshoes and Currycombs.--Horseshoes found vary considerably in size,
although the majority are relatively small. Many shoes have both toe and
heel calks, and in most examples the calks are well worn. The many small
shoes that have been excavated may indicate that the horses used in
Virginia three centuries ago were much smaller than the 20th-century
breeds.
All currycombs found are handwrought, and many have pleasing designs on
the backs, formed by the curved iron strips which extend from the handle
prong to the back of the comb.
Branding Irons.--Parts of several branding irons were found including a
complete example with initials "TR."
Wagon and Carriage Parts.--Archeologists unearthed only a few metal
parts from wagons and carriages--reminders of a day when horses and oxen
were indispensable animals in the Virginia settlements.
Trade
Some interesting objects recovered at Jamestown relate to early trade.
These include items used in trade with the Indians, as well as an
excellent assortment of lead bale clips. These clips are decorated discs
which were often attached to bales of goods (especially woolen cloth)
imported from England. One object, the heaviest unearthed at Jamestown,
relates indirectly to trade. It is a 1,300-pound iron piledriver which
was once used to build wharfs and piers.
INDIAN TRADE
One reason why the colonists selected a site for Jamestown some miles up
the James River was to develop the Indian trade over an extensive area.
During the early years of the colony, trade with the natives was
encouraged. It is clear from the early records that the settlers
bartered such items as beads, cloth, penny knives, shears, bells, glass
toys, whistles, hatchets, pots and pans, brass casting counters, and
similar objects in exchange for Indian corn (and other vegetables),
fish, game, fruits and berries, and furs.
Many examples of English trade goods used for bartering with the Indians
have been found on the island, but these can be described only briefly.
Beads.--The majority of glass beads were shipped from England, although
some may have been made in Italy, probably in Venice. As no glass beads
were found at or near the site of the glass factory, it is doubtful
whether any were made there. Most beads in the collection are round or
oval, a few are cylindrical having been cut from colored glass rods. All
beads excavated are of one or more colors, with the exception of 2 or 3
that are colorless. After three centuries the attractive colors still
persist; and looking at the colorful beads today you can understand the
charm they held for the Indians.
Knives.--Small, inexpensive knives called penny knives, were often used
for trading purposes during the years at Jamestown. A few folding knives
and blade fragments (which may also have been penny knives) have been
recovered.
Shears.--Several shears and scissors, highly prized by the Indians, were
found on the island. A few are almost complete.
Bells.--Brass and iron bells of types which were used for bartering with
the Indians have been excavated. A few days after the colonists reached
Jamestown one of them recorded that "our captaine ... presented [to an
Indian chief] gyftes of dyvers sortes, as penny knyves, sheeres, belles,
beades, glass toyes &c. more amply then before."
[Illustration: BRASS CASTING COUNTERS EXCAVATED ON JAMESTOWN ISLAND.
MANY WERE MADE IN GERMANY BEFORE 1575 FOR USE BY MERCHANTS ON COUNTING
BOARDS. IN THE NEW WORLD THEY WERE USED FOR THE INDIAN TRADE.]
[Illustration: A FEW OBJECTS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN WHICH WERE USED FOR
TRADING WITH THE INDIANS. SHOWN ARE GLASS BEADS, SCISSORS, IRON KNIVES,
A HATCHET, AND BELL FRAGMENTS.]
Hatchets.--Many fine specimens of handwrought hatchets have been found.
These were valuable items during the early years of the settlement, and
much sought after by the Indians, so that a large number were used in
trading with them. But hatchets were used primarily by the carpenter,
cooper, and other artisans.
Pots and Pans.--A pot or pan made of brass or copper was almost worth
its weight in gold for trading purposes. A few complete examples,
together with numerous fragments, have been recovered.
Brass Casting Counters or Jettons.--Most of these thin brass tokens or
counters (similar in appearance to coins) were made in Germany during
the second half of the 16th century. In Europe they were used on
counting boards for making mathematical calculations, but in the New
World it is believed that they were used in the Indian trade.
Approximately a dozen have been found at Jamestown. Three were also
found on Roanoke Island (site of Raleigh's ill-fated "Lost Colony") and
one was recovered in an Indian shell mound near Cape Hatteras, not too
distant from Croatoan Island (known today as Ocracoke Island). Many of
the counters in the Jamestown collection were made by Hans Schultes and
Hans Laufer of Nuremberg, who manufactured such jettons between 1550 and
1574, at which time Nuremberg was a center for the making of casting
counters. Some of the counters have holes punched through them,
indicating that the Indians may have worn them around their necks like
pendants, suspended from leather thongs.
Miscellaneous Items.--Other objects which the English used in trade with
the Indians were colored cloth, glass toys, and whistles; but no
examples of these have been recovered during archeological explorations.
[Illustration: A WHARF SCENE--ARRIVAL OF A SHIP FROM THE MOTHER COUNTRY.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
ENGLISH AND FOREIGN TRADE
During the 17th century, active trade was carried on between the
Virginia colony and the mother country. Local commodities of timber,
wood products, soap ashes, iron ore, tobacco, pitch, tar, furs,
minerals, salt, sassafras, and other New World raw materials were
shipped to England. In exchange, English merchants sold to the
colonists, tools, farm implements, seeds, stock and poultry, furniture
and household accessories, clothing, weapons, hardware, kitchen
utensils, pottery, metalware, glassware, and certain foods and drinks.
There is also good evidence that some trade was carried on with Holland,
Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Mexico, and the West Indies.
Many artifacts unearthed (especially pottery) were made in the countries
mentioned. It is believed that certain commodities were acquired by
direct trade with the country where made, in spite of the strict laws by
which the Colonial Powers sought to monopolize the colonial trade for
the benefit of the mother country.
Lead Bale Clips.--A series of decorated lead clips which relate to
17th-century trade have been found at several places on Jamestown
Island. As their name implies, these lead clips, or seals, were attached
to bales of English goods, usually woolen cloth, to attest that the
goods were of an approved quality and length, and of a given amount.
Each clip usually consisted of two discs connected by a narrow band, and
when used for marking cloth the name or initials of the maker of the
material was often incised on one of the discs. The clips, too, were
often embossed with a decorative device such as a coat of arms, crest,
crown, name or initials of a king, numerals, king's head, royal arms,
animal, or flower. Over a dozen of these small lead clips have been
unearthed, and serve as reminders of a past day when majestic English
merchantmen sailed to Jamestown laden with bales of goods from the
mother country.
[Illustration: LEAD BALE CLIPS USED FOR SEALING BALES OF WOOLEN CLOTH
AND OTHER GOODS. ONCE A CLIP HAD BEEN ATTACHED TO A BALE IT ATTESTED
THAT THE GOODS WERE OF AN APPROVED QUALITY AND LENGTH OR AMOUNT.]
[Illustration: THIS 1,300-POUND IRON PILEDRIVER USED FOR DRIVING PILES
IN THE BUILDING OF SMALL WHARVES WAS FOUND AT JAMESTOWN.]
[Illustration: BUILDING A WHARF, ABOUT 1650. (Conjectural sketch by
Sidney E. King.)]
Piers and Wharfs.--In order to accommodate such large sailing vessels,
piers and wharfs had to be built at Jamestown. A 1,300-pound iron
piledriver was found in the basement of a 17th-century building in 1955.
It was probably used three centuries ago for driving piles in the James
River during construction of a small wharf.
Worshipping
The Jamestown colonists were, for the most part, religious and
God-fearing people. The majority were members of the Church of England.
One of the first settlers, the Rev. Robert Hunt, was an ordained
minister of that church. Whenever possible, services were held every
morning and evening, and sermons delivered twice on Sundays.
A few ornamental brass book clasps excavated near Jamestown may have
been used on early Bibles and Prayer Books. Under the care of Bruton
Parish Episcopal Church in Willamsburg are four pieces of communion
silver which were used in the church at Jamestown. Two pieces, an
exquisite chalice and paten, were donated to the Jamestown church by Lt.
Gov. Francis Morrison (or Moryson) in 1661. Inscribed on both is the
legend: "Mixe not holy thinges with profane." A second paten, made in
London in 1691-92, was given to the Jamestown Church by Gov. Edmund
Andros in 1694. Another paten, or a collection plate (also made in
London), bears the inscription: "For the use of James City Parish
Church."
[Illustration: DECORATED BRASS BOOK CLASPS FOUND NEAR JAMESTOWN WHICH
MAY HAVE BEEN USED ON AN EARLY BIBLE OR PRAYER BOOK]
The officials of the Virginia Company of London, admonishing the first
settlers to serve and fear God in order to plant a successful and
prosperous colony, advised:
Lastly and chiefly the way to prosper and achieve good success is
to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and
your own, and to serve and fear God the Giver of all Goodness, for
every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall
be rooted out.
Seemingly the advice was carried out, for from the small settlement on a
tiny island in the James River grew a great and mighty nation.
[Illustration: COMMUNION SILVER USED IN THE JAMESTOWN CHURCH AFTER 1661.
BOTH THE CHALICE AND PATEN WERE MADE IN LONDON, AND DONATED TO THE
CHURCH BY LT. GOV. FRANCIS MORRISON (OR MORYSON) IN 1661. ON BOTH PIECES
IS THE LEGEND: "MIXE NOT HOLY THINGES WITH PROFANE."]
Select Bibliography
BAILEY, WORTH. "Concerning Jamestown Pottery--Past and Present."
_Ceramic Age_, pp. 101-104. October 1937.
----. "Joseph Copeland, 17th Century Pewterer." _The Magazine Antiques_,
pp. 188-190. April 1938.
----. "Lime Preparation at Jamestown in the Seventeenth Century."
_William and Mary College Quarterly_, pp. 1-12. January 1938.
----. "Notes on the Use of Pewter in Virginia During the Seventeenth
Century." _William and Mary College Quarterly_, pp. 227-241. April
1938.
BRUCE, PHILLIP ALEXANDER. _Economic History of Virginia in the
Seventeenth Century_. 2 Vols. New York. Peter Smith. 1935.
FORMAN, HENRY CHANDLER. _Jamestown and St. Mary's_. Baltimore. The Johns
Hopkins Press. 1938.
----. "The Old Hardware of James Town." _The Magazine Antiques_, pp.
30-32. January 1941.
HARRINGTON, J.C. _Glassmaking at Jamestown._ Richmond, Va. The Dietz
Press, Inc. 1952.
----. "Seventeenth Century Brickmaking and Tilemaking at Jamestown,
Virginia." _The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography_, pp.
16-39. January 1950.
----. "Some Delft Tiles Found at Jamestown." _The Magazine Antiques_,
pp. 36-37. January 1951.
----. "Tobacco Pipes from Jamestown." _Quarterly Bulletin Archeological
Society of Virginia_, June 1951.
HONEY, WILLIAM B. _European Ceramic Art from the end of the Middle Ages
to about 1815_. New York. 1949.
----. _Glass: A Handbook and a Guide to the Museum Collection_. Victoria
and Albert Museum, London. 1946.
HUDSON, J. PAUL. "The Story of Iron at Jamestown, Virginia--Where Iron
Objects Were Wrought by Englishmen Almost 350 Years Ago." _The Iron
Worker_, pp. 2-14. Summer 1956.
----and C. Malcolm Watkins. "How Pottery Was Made at Jamestown,
Virginia--Where Englishmen First Made Earthenware Vessels in the New
World Over Three Hundred Years Ago." _The Magazine Antiques_. January
1957.
INNOCENT, C.F. _Development of English Building Construction_.
University Press. Cambridge, England. 1916.
LANE, ARTHUR. _A Guide to the Collection of Tiles_. Victoria and Albert
Museum. London. 1939.
PETERSON, CHARLES E. "Some Recent Discoveries at Jamestown." _The
Magazine Antiques_, pp. 192-194. May 1936.
PETERSON, HAROLD L. _Arms and Armor in Colonial America_. Stackpole
Company. Harrisburg, Pa. 1956.
SONN, ALBERT H. _Early American Wrought Iron_. 3 Vols. Charles
Scribner's Sons. New York. 1928.
WATKINS, C. MALCOLM. "The Lamps of Colonial America." _The Magazine
Antiques_, pp. 187-191. October 1937.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RELATING TO JAMESTOWN
FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING
OFFICE, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.
Jamestown, Virginia, the Townsite and Its Story (Historical Handbook
Series No. 2) 25 cents.
James Towne in the Words of Contemporaries (Source Book Series No. 5) 20
cents.
America's Oldest Legislative Assembly and Its Jamestown Statehouses
(Interpretive Series No. 2) 25 cents.
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J. Paul Hudson
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