Jamestown Rediscovery

08/26/2026

Earlier this month, Jamestown Rediscovery was delighted to welcome representatives from the Virginia Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Jamestowne Society to dedicate the restored steps on the historic 1907 Yeardley House. Both organizations generously supported the restoration in honor of the nation's 250th anniversary.

Like many buildings and monuments at Jamestown, Yeardley House was built in 1907 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The building was a gift of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution to Preservation Virginia.

Our many, many thanks to the Jamestowne Society and the Virginia Society Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the Williamsburg and Ann Wagers chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for their generous support.

08/24/2026

Jamestown archaeology: It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

08/20/2026

Excavations continue near the sea wall, where archaeologists are working around several 20th-century utility features! Running through most of the dig is a 17th-century midden, or trash pit - archaeologists love trash, so this is great for artifact recovery! Here are a few finds from last week:

🍾 Case bottle base - three sherds that mend!
🍳 Pipkin leg - the small leg of a ceramic cooking dish, made for cooking directly in hot coals
🏺 Native ceramic - nice rim sherd with some type of impressed decoration

08/19/2026

Tonight's program is about the Archaeology of Bacon's Rebellion, so you know we'll be there! There's still time to join us, get all the details at the link below.

There's still time to get your tickets for tonight's lecture: "The Archaeology of Bacon's Rebellion" hosted at Bacon's Castle!

In-person and virtual lecture tickets are available at baconsrebellion350.org/event/lecture-archaeology/

Don't miss this incredible chance to hear from the archaeologist who uncovered evidence of Bacon's rebels at the castle. You'll also get an in depth look at the ordinary finds from an extraordinary context and what they can reveal about everyday life and labor during this pivotal period.

In 2026, “The Archaeology of Bacon’s Rebellion” is presented as part of “Reconsidering Bacon’s Rebellion at 350 Years,” a joint program series by Preservation Virginia, Jamestown Rediscovery/Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, W&M Strategic Cultural Partnerships, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe & Reservation, the The Rappahannock Tribe, and the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, Inc. (Official) with support from Virginia Humanities.

08/17/2026

We're hiring for the new-and-improved Dale House Cafe! Join the team that helps support daily operations and visitor experience at Historic Jamestowne. Available positions and application instructions are at https://historicjamestowne.org/about/jr-job-opportunities/

Stay tuned for more announcements about opening!

📸 A 20th-century postcard of the garden at Yeardley house, now the offices of Jamestown Rediscovery, with the Dale house in the distance.

08/14/2026

Archaeologists found this cool sherd of Delft tile during excavations at the seawall site this week! We have more than 1500 fragments of Delft tile in our collection that represent at least 85 tiles with hand-painted illustrations of soldiers, everyday people, and a few landscapes or other motifs. Check them all out at historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/delft-tile/

08/13/2026

There aren't many artifacts at Jamestown that qualify as "cute," but this child's shoe certainly does! This shoe was excavated in 2006 from the Second Well, which dates to ca. 1617. It's made of goatskin and is a latchet-tie style. The shoe is about a size 1 and shows light signs of wear.

Wells are one of the only places we find surviving organic materials like shoe leather. This is due to the anaerobic environment found below the water level, which prevents the growth of bacteria that cause decay!

Learn more about the shoe on our website at historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/childs-shoe.

08/08/2026

A new episode of our Dig Deeper series is out now on YouTube! Catch up on last year's excavations at the 1607 Burial Ground and learn how we use ground-penetrating radar to aid in this important digs.

Watch and subscribe at https://youtu.be/l8Lk9o_pxWk

08/07/2026

We have a really exciting announcement!!! Drumroll please ... we have finished picking ALL of the water-screened material from JR2718N, a major artifact layer in the First Well, which was excavated all the way back in 2009!

These are all of the beads we found by picking, and tiny artifacts like these are a big part of the reason we bother to do the water screening and picking processes for certain features. Staff, interns, volunteers, field school students, and the ed shed have all contributed time to this project.

There are 118 beads total: 33 shell, 13 bone, 1 (partial, burned) wood, and 71 glass.

Shell includes: 19 clam shell and 4 whole + 10 halves mussel shell. Glass includes 3 tubular aqua blue, 2 Nueva Cadiz, 2 wound raspberry beads, 6 simple circular, round, or oval beads, and 58 seed beads.

This is a major accomplishment and we're so grateful to everyone who had a hand in making it possible. If you'd like to explore more about beads excavated at Jamestown, head to: historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/beads

08/04/2026

One of the benefits of working or volunteering here is the chance to see and learn about many of the five million artifacts (and counting!) our archaeologists have unearthed here over the past 32 years.

Staff from our Curation and Conservation teams gave several of our volunteers and staff some great instruction last week about different vessels for holding various liquids, including wine, medicine, and even urine.

Urine. That is not a typo.