Pintle

Pintles are iron elements upon which swiveling doors, windows, and shutters were hung. Small pintles were used in cabinetry to secure furniture doors.  

More pintles were needed as James Fort developed from impermanent pit housing to more permanent housing structures. The majority of pintles found at Jamestown are from contexts which date after 1610. This increase in pintles correlates with the decline of escutcheons and furniture lock hasps after 1610. Permanent structures with lockable doors, windows, and shutters allowed for individual possessions to be secured within homes or rooms, rather than in chests or boxes as they would have been when the colonists first arrived. Increasing permanence of the fort itself and the beginning of the expansion into New Town also meant more space for each colonist. Individual homes began to be constructed and lived in as opposed to shared spaces.