Jamestown Rediscovery

Jamestown Rediscovery Jamestown Rediscovery preserves, protects & promotes the original site of James Fort

For more than two decades, the Jamestown Rediscovery Project has brought to life the vivid stories of early James Fort. As early as 1837, eyewitness accounts claimed that the fort built in 1607 by Captain John Smith and the first English settlers was submerged in the James River. But when Dr. William Kelso visited Jamestown in 1963, as a graduate student at the College of William & Mary, he was sk

eptical of that theory. He wondered if the standing 17th-century brick church tower would have been constructed near the center of the original fort, where an earlier church once stood. Under his leadership, the Jamestown Rediscovery Project launched in 1994 and within three archaeological seasons had uncovered enough evidence to prove the mains of James Fort existed on dry land near the church tower. Since then, Jamestown Rediscovery's mission has evolved into a more challenging undertaking. Today more than a dozen staff members excavate, interpret, preserve, conserve, and research the site's finding.

Jamestown was honored to welcome the Contraband Historical Society to the site this week! On the heels of their fantasti...
05/28/2026

Jamestown was honored to welcome the Contraband Historical Society to the site this week! On the heels of their fantastic symposium at Fort Monroe, members toured Jamestown to explore the landscape of Fort Pocahontas, built by Confederate forces and enslaved labor in 1861 and occupied by the Union beginning in 1862. Research as part of the Jamestown 1862 initiative has revealed several instances of enslaved people seeking freedom at Jamestown Island before heading to Fort Monroe and excavations are ongoing to find the physical evidence of this important history.

05/22/2026

H̵a̵z̵i̵n̵g̵ Training our new boss! Archaeology is fun, we promise.

We're so excited to welcome this year's cohort of field school students next week! These undergrad and graduate students...
05/21/2026

We're so excited to welcome this year's cohort of field school students next week! These undergrad and graduate students will spend six weeks learning the ins-and-outs of historical archaeology, from field to the lab.

Here's some favorite shots of previous years' cohorts!

📸 1: learning to describe soil using a Munsell chart; 2: using a microscope to examine window leads; 3: the best way to figure out if something is glass is to see if the sun shines through it! 4: 3 William & Mary grads with a William & Mary medallion excavated from the borrow pit.

On May 14th, 1607, three ships anchored in the deep waters of the James River and their passengers, 104 men and boys plu...
05/14/2026

On May 14th, 1607, three ships anchored in the deep waters of the James River and their passengers, 104 men and boys plus crewmembers, stepped onto a swampy, unoccupied peninsula “in Paspiha’s [Paspehegh] country.” (George Percy) They would name their fort James Fort, which would eventually become Jamestown, and then James Cittie, the capital of the Virginia colony for almost 100 years.

Many thought the original site of the fort was gone, lost to the James River. But in 1994, Dr. Bill Kelso and a small crew of archaeologists uncovered the soil stains left by the original palisade walls in 1994 and quickly realized that more than 80% of the fort's original footprint was still underground, waiting to be revealed.

Interested in learning more about Jamestown? Explore the complex history of this place on our website at historicjamestowne.org.

📸 Dr. Kelso excavating the south wall of the palisade in 1994.

Even though excavations near the sea wall are still in modern landscaping / utility layers, 17th century artifacts are p...
05/13/2026

Even though excavations near the sea wall are still in modern landscaping / utility layers, 17th century artifacts are popping up! Here we have two different types of to***co pipes. The small, rounder pipe bowls are generally dated early and were likely manufactured in Europe. The pipe stems with the swirled red clay and stamps are what are known as 'bookbinder' pipes, manufactured near what's now Virginia Beach circa 1640.

Be sure to stop by the excavations during your visit to Jamestown to experience the moment of discovery yourself! You can also explore more to***co and pipe artifacts on our website any time at https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/category/to***co/

Coming up this Wednesday at our partner site, Bacon's Castle, an expert panel on women in Bacon's Rebellion. Featuring o...
05/11/2026

Coming up this Wednesday at our partner site, Bacon's Castle, an expert panel on women in Bacon's Rebellion. Featuring our own Dr. Amy Stallings and Merry Outlaw, the panel will discuss several perspectives of the tumultuous events of 1676, including the role of Cockacoeske, the queen of the Pamunkey.

Join us across the river or virtually - get your tickets at baconsrebellion350.org.

This program is presented as part of “Reconsidering Bacon’s Rebellion at 350 Years,” a joint program series by Preservation Virginia, Jamestown Rediscovery, Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe & Reservation, the The Rappahannock Tribe, and the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, Inc. (Official) with support from Virginia Humanities and W&M Strategic Cultural Partnerships.

Something was hiding inside Historic Jamestowne’s dirt.Archaeologists digging around the 400-year-old fort expected musk...
05/08/2026

Something was hiding inside Historic Jamestowne’s dirt.

Archaeologists digging around the 400-year-old fort expected muskets and maybe some bones. Instead, they kept pulling up Chinese porcelain.

And the mystery began. How did refined dishware you'd expect to find in a palace end up here?

Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown is open at Jamestown Settlement, where a rare Ming bottle on loan from Buckingham Palace joins fragments uncovered in Virginia soil, displayed side by side for the first time.

The exhibition traces how these objects traveled halfway around the world, and what having one on your shelf said about your place in colonial Virginia's social pecking order.

Turns out status symbols have always been a thing.

Included with museum admission and presented in partnership with Jamestown Rediscovery.

jyfmuseums.org/following-the-dragon

As we get ready to commemorate the 419th anniversary of the arrival of the Virginia Company to Jamestown, we have a real...
05/08/2026

As we get ready to commemorate the 419th anniversary of the arrival of the Virginia Company to Jamestown, we have a really exciting artifact to share!

This coin, which was excavated just about a month ago, is dated. And it's not just any date, it's dated 1607! This is the first coin we have EVER excavated with the date 1607. Our curators have determined that this coin is a double denier, a copper alloy coin minted for use in the Netherlands during the reign of Albert and Isabella.

The coin isn't in great shape, but the central crowned arms of Austria-Burgundy over the Burgundian cross are visible on the reverse. On this side, the legend is really unreadable, but amazingly, the mint mark is visible - just to the upper left of the shield (at 11 o'clock) is a hand (it's a sketchy hand, but it's a hand), which indicates that this coin was minted in Antwerp. Many parts of Belgium, including Antwerp, were part of the Spanish Netherlands at this time. The coins minted during the reign of Albert and Isabella are French, since they were the sovereigns of both the Habsburg Netherlands (aka the Spanish Netherlands) and the Free County of Burgundy.

The obverse of our coin should have a central crowned AE monogram with the surrounding legend: ALBERTVS ET ELISABET D G (Albert and Isabella by the Grace of God...) and the reverse with the crowned arms of Austria-Burgundy over the Burgundian cross should have the surrounding legend to complete the phrase: ARCHID AVS DVC BVRG ET BRA (of the Archduchy of Austria, Duchy of Burgundy and Brabant).

So how did this coin get to Jamestown? Many of the colony's high-ranking military leaders such as Sir Thomas Gates, Sir Thomas Dale, and Sir George Yeardley had fought alongside the Dutch Republic against the Spanish Netherlands before coming to Jamestown, so perhaps it was part of their personal cache they brought to Virginia.

Learn more and plan your visit at historicjamestowne.org

Last week, we were delighted to welcome historian Heather Cox Richardson to Jamestown! Our staff showed her behind-the-s...
05/05/2026

Last week, we were delighted to welcome historian Heather Cox Richardson to Jamestown! Our staff showed her behind-the-scenes in the Vault, where our curators and conservators care for 5 million (and counting) artifacts, the site of James Fort, the Archaearium Archaeology Museum, current excavations, as well as the initial research for the Jamestown 1862 initiative.

Jamestown Rediscovery Executive Director Todd Arrington has been friends and colleagues with Dr. Richardson for 20 years and we're glad to count her as a Jamestown fan.

📸 1 - in the lab looking at conserved leather shoes; 2 - in the Archaearium seeing how leather is preserved inside wells; 3 - exploring the recent excavations at the 1608 palisade extension and surprise well; 4 - looking at artifacts just found near the seawall; 5 - the whole group

In the excavations near the 1608 Fort Extension, archaeologists found a fragment of the distinctive blue and gray stonew...
04/30/2026

In the excavations near the 1608 Fort Extension, archaeologists found a fragment of the distinctive blue and gray stoneware called Westerwald. It features a popular motif called the Peasant's Wedding, created by Sebald Benham, a German engraver who lived in Frankfurt in the mid-1500s.

And more exciting - this fragment is likely part of a known vessel in our collection! You can see more of it on our website: historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/peasants-wedding-jug

Address

1365 Colonial Pkwy
Jamestown, VA
23081

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17572294997

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