2017 | Historic Jamestowne

Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists are examining the area in and around the 20th-century Memorial Church to look for evidence of two earlier churches—constructed c. 1617 and c. 1640—in the same location. The first General Assembly was convened in Jamestown’s 1617 church from July 30 to August 4, 1619. Thus 2019 will mark the 400th anniversary of representative government in the western hemisphere and the team is hoping to learn more about the building where the historic meeting took place. Excavations will also attempt to shed more light on the construction and date of the brick church tower, the only surviving above-ground 17th-century structure on Jamestown Island.