2013

In 2013 the Jamestown Rediscovery team and the Smithsonian Institution announced the discovery of human remains that had been processed to be cannibalized. The remains were those of young English woman who had likely arrived to the colony in the late summer of 1609 before dying sometime during the following winter, known to history as the “starving time.” These remains had been found in the rubbish layers of the fort’s early L-shaped kitchen cellar found about 30 feet east of the brick church tower.

During the summer field season of 2013, archaeologists explored the 1608 eastern addition to James Fort. They uncovered evidence of 1607 attempts at agriculture by the English in the form of planting furrows. The archaeologists also uncovered a large ditch that contained the remains of a nearly complete articulated horse skeleton, probably from the 18^th century. Read the Dig Updates below for more detail on these exciting discoveries.

Dig Update Archive, 2004-present