Jamestown Rediscovery

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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 skeptical 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.

Did you know Jamestown almost became a golf course?In the 1890s, Preservation Virginia (then the Association for the Pre...
10/14/2026

Did you know Jamestown almost became a golf course?

In the 1890s, Preservation Virginia (then the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) saved the site and continues to advocate for historic preservation across the Commonwealth today. Preservation Virginia CEO Will Glasco recently wrote an editorial in The Daily Press about the proposed changes to Section 106 and the potential harms to historic sites across the nation.

Read it now at: https://www.dailypress.com/2026/10/10/column-proposed-changes-would-weaken-historic-preservation-efforts/?share=ehweeosssoaae2ioewe6

Jamestown is located on Paspahegh land, in the region called Tsenacommacah, which once extended across 10,000 square mil...
10/12/2026

Jamestown is located on Paspahegh land, in the region called Tsenacommacah, which once extended across 10,000 square miles from the banks of the James River north to the Potomac River and from the Atlantic Ocean west to the rolling hills of the piedmont that was ruled by Wahunsenacawh, called Chief Powhatan by the English.

Archaeologically, the volume of Virginia Indian artifacts sometimes eclipses European artifacts at Jamestown. Through this artifact record, we know that the island was used for thousands of years as a seasonal camp. Then, when the Jamestown colonists arrived, Virginia Indians continued traveling to and staying on the island, bringing food and supplies, which we uncover during excavations. As archaeologists and historians, it's our mission to honor those who came before us.



📸 Jamestown Rediscovery curators identified more than 40 different types of Virginia Indian projectile points excavated on the island. The points show the long history of Indigenous settlement on Jamestown Island, from the Paleoindian Period about 10,000 years ago to 1607and beyond. This great poster was designed by Judi Paulos. Explore some of the artifacts associated with Virginia Indians in our online artifact archive at https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/category/virginia-indian/

If you follow us over on the clock app (😉), you got to see archaeologists Katie and Natalie excavate a really cool butte...
10/06/2026

If you follow us over on the clock app (😉), you got to see archaeologists Katie and Natalie excavate a really cool butter pot from the midden near the sea wall. It was several fragments of a half of a ceramic storage container that had been tossed into the midden (aka trash pit) and then broken in one crush - called a pop break. In situ, the fragments were still holding the shape of half of the pot.

Butter pots were brought to Jamestown between 1607 and 1610 when they needed to import butter - there were no cattle in the earliest days of the Fort. After that, the pots were probably reused for storage until they broke and were trashed, like this one. The midden dates to the 1630s-50s, so someone probably had this pot for over a decade before it finally broke!

Here's some photos of the excavation. If you want to see the video, go follow us on TikTok !

Today's the day! Join us to celebrate Virginia Archaeology Month with special tours, archaeology in action, living histo...
10/03/2026

Today's the day! Join us to celebrate Virginia Archaeology Month with special tours, archaeology in action, living history, and a new conservation activity in the Archaearium. Find the full schedule at historicjamestowne.org/archaeologyday

It's Virginia Archaeology Month! Archaeology at Jamestown literally changed the history books. From finding the site of ...
10/01/2026

It's Virginia Archaeology Month! Archaeology at Jamestown literally changed the history books. From finding the site of James Fort to continuing to uncover evidence of the past, we're proud to share the story of those who came before us. Join us to celebrate this month:

📆 Saturday, Oct 3: Archaeology Day
🚶 Every weekday at 11am: Archaeology Walking Tours
🔎 Weekdays: Archaeology in Action

Plan your visit now at historicjamestowne.org

📸 Archaeologist Caitlin and Conservator Dan carefully excavated iron armor from a unit next to the historic Church Tower.

Only three more sleeps until Virginia Archaeology Month starts! Join us this Saturday to kick off the festivities with A...
09/28/2026

Only three more sleeps until Virginia Archaeology Month starts! Join us this Saturday to kick off the festivities with Archaeology Day: explore ongoing excavations inside James Fort, go on an engaging walking tour, and see artifacts brought to life through living history demonstrations.

Get the full schedule and plan your visit now at historicjamestowne.org/archaeologyday

📸 Archaeologist Josh holds a tiny bone die excavated from a unit in the field north of James Fort

One of the best things about Jamestown Rediscovery is the intersection of archaeology and living history! Blacksmith She...
09/27/2026

One of the best things about Jamestown Rediscovery is the intersection of archaeology and living history! Blacksmith Shel is going to be making a couple triangular padlocks in the coming weeks to use in the blacksmith shop, so he's studying the ones we have in the artifact collection.

Our curators are still learning about these locks and Shel's study has already proven to be helpful! There are only 8 triangular padlocks in the collection. Three are on display in the Archaearium Museum (those are the ones that Shel is looking at now), the others are conserved and in the dry room. At least one of these is a trick lock, meaning that the keyhole is covered by a plate that only opens when the person unlocking it knows where the secret lever or button to open the plate is! This means these locks are fairly dust- and tamper-resistant! We've got more research to do, but as of right now we think these may have been manufactured in Germany and are pretty high status items, which aligns with how few we have. Pretty cool!

Catch Shel in the Blacksmith's Shop today to see how he's bringing this artifact to life!

Archaeology isn't over after the artifacts come out of the ground! At Jamestown, our fantastic curators and conservators...
09/26/2026

Archaeology isn't over after the artifacts come out of the ground! At Jamestown, our fantastic curators and conservators preserve and care for the millions of artifacts excavated right here. This year, for Archaeology Day, get a peek at the conservation process in our new program, "Seeing the Unseen!" You meet two of our conservators to learn how we use the powers of observation (and also lasers) to learn about artifacts and how to care them.

Get the full schedule for Archaeology Day and plan your visit at historicjamestowne.org/archaeologyday

There are no fat grizzlies to vote for in Virginia, but there were plenty of black bears in the 17th century (and today)...
09/24/2026

There are no fat grizzlies to vote for in Virginia, but there were plenty of black bears in the 17th century (and today)! John Smith recorded sightings of bears on his first voyage up the Chesapeake in June and July 1608. The colonists were unused to sharing their environment with large and predatory animals and hunted bears, wolves, and other predators to protect not only themselves, but also their small number of domestic animals.

These objects are bear phalanges, or the small bones of the paws. We've excavated a total of 10, all from early fort period contexts. The colonists may have kept them as trophies or as trade items. Learn more on our website at: https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/bear-claws/

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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