Shot

More than 30 iron shot have been found during the James Fort excavations. The size and weight of the shot indicate what kinds of artillery the colonists had mounted in the bulwarks of the fort. Most are for a falconet, a six-foot-long gun weighing more than 500 pounds. Other shot indicate the presence of a falcon, a minion, and a demiculverin.

At 11 feet in length and weighing more than 2,500 pounds, the demiculverin is the largest cannon represented by shot found in the fort. When Chief Powhatan asked John Smith for a “great Gunne,” Smith offered “foure Demy Culverings” from the fort as long as the two Indians sent to retrieve the gift take it with them. Not surprisingly, they “found them somewhat too heavie.”