10/4/2025
9:00am - 4:00pm
Every October, Jamestown Rediscovery celebrates Virginia Archaeology Month alongside the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and historic sites across the Commonwealth. Join us this year to explore how archaeology changed the story of Jamestown, watch ongoing excavations at the site of a 17th-century cellar, and see artifacts brought to life through living history demonstrations and walking tours.
Archaeology Day programming is generously sponsored by The Edward Maria Wingfield Endowment Fund, established by The Wingfield Family Society to honor Wingfield as soldier, investor and first president of Jamestown.
Events listed below are included with admission to the Preservation Virginia portion of Historic Jamestowne.
Archaeology Day Schedule
All Day Programs:
Archaeology in Action!
Share in the moment of discovery at the original 1607 James Fort. Meet the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists and learn about ongoing excavations as well as the latest discoveries. Outside James Fort.
“A tractable trade”
Learn firsthand about the trials of the first English settlers and their experiences exploring the Chesapeake from Anas Todkill, one of the settlers who explored the bay with Captain John Smith. In James Fort.
Forged in History
Blacksmithing was one of the earliest trades practiced at Jamestown. Join blacksmith Steve Mankowski for demonstrations and a discussion of the metalworking done at the site of the original James Fort forge. In James Fort.
Native Lifeways of the Chesapeake
Join Daniel Firehawk Abbott of the Nanticoke people from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to learn about the material culture and lifeways of the Tidewater Algonquians as well as their interactions with the settlers of Jamestown. In James Fort.
“Pales, posts, and railes …”
Building a fort proved a necessity for the colonists within a month of their 1607 arrival. Timber Frame Carpenter Danny Whitten and 17th century building fabricator Jesse Robertson will demonstrate the tools and methods used by the first colonists to build everything from the fort walls to buildings. In James Fort.
Tours:
10:00am and 1:00pm: James Fort Archaeology Walking Tour
Join archaeologists Mary Anna R. Hartley and Eleanor Robb for an in-depth tour of the 1607 fort site and learn about this season’s excavations and new discoveries. Tour begins at the Pocahontas Statue.
11:00pm: The Powhatan and The English Walking Tour
Join Public Historian Mark Summers for a program discussing the interactions, trade, and conflict between English colonists and the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom based on archaeological evidence. Tour begins at the Pocahontas Statue.
