Jamestown, the Buried Truth

What was life really like for the band of adventurers who firstset foot on the banks of the James River in 1607? Important as the accomplishmentsof these men and women were, the written records pertaining to them are scarce, ambiguous, and often conflicting, and those curious about the birthplace of theUnited States are left to turn to dramatic and often highly fictionalized reports.In Jamestown, the Buried Truth, William Kelso takes us literally to the soil wherethe Jamestown colony began, unearthing the James Fort and its contents to revealfascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of theirendeavors and struggles, and of their relationships with the Virginia Indians. Heoffers up a lively but fact-based account, framed around a narrative of thearchaeological team's exciting discoveries. Once thought to have been washed away bythe James River, James Fort still retains much of its structure, including palisadewalls, bulwarks, interior buildings, a well, a warehouse, and several pits, and morethan 500,000 objects have been cataloged, half dating to the time of Queen Elizabethand King James. Artifacts especially reflective of life at James Fort include anivory compass, Cabasset helmets and breastplates, glass and copper beads andornaments, ceramics, tools, religious icons, a pewter flagon, and personal items.Dr. Kelso and his team of archaeologists have discovered the lost burial of one ofJamestown's early leaders, presumed to be Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, and theremains of several other early settlers, including a young man who died of a musketball wound. In addition, they've uncovered and analyzed the remains of thefoundations of Jamestown's massive capitol building. Refuting the now decades-oldstereotype that attributed the high mortality rate of the Jamestown settlers totheir laziness and ineptitude, Jamestown, the Buried Truth produces a vivid pictureof the settlement that is far more complex, incorporating the most recentarchaeology to give Jamestown its rightful place in history and thus contributing toa broader understanding of the transatlantic world.

"In what is certainly one of the more substantial of the many commemorative tomes that will be published as Jamestown, Va., turns 400, Kelso, head archeologist at the Jamestown Rediscovery Project, describes the process of unearthing America's oldest permanent English settlement and the new light his findings shed on it. Like most archeologists, Kelso rejoices when he finds garbage heaps: Jamestown's trash pits hold evidence of glass making, and recovered armor confirms the existence of a military barracks. Butchered skeletons of dogs and rats testify that, during months of starvation, colonists ate whatever they could find. Kelso's team also excavated an elaborate row house, a grander building than historians thought the earliest colonists had built. The most intriguing chapter examines several grave sites: among the surprising skeletal discoveries are the remains of a young man who apparently died of a gunshot wound in his leg. The shot suggests some heretofore unknown 'political intrigue' in Jamestown's earliest years. At times, Kelso could have gone further in sketching the day-to-day life his artifacts reveal. Nonetheless, this slim book will join the ranks of James Deetz's In Small Things Forgotten and Ivor Noel Hume's Martin's Hundred, archeological studies that find a broad readership among colonial American history buffs. 150 color and b&w illus. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The head archaeologist of the Jamestown Rediscovery Project reports on the findings and their interpretation from excavations at the site of the first enduring English settlement in the New World, founded on the banks of the James River in Virginia in 1607. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

William M. Kelso, head archaeologist of the Jamestown Recovery Project, takes readers literally to the soil where the Jamestown colony began, unearthing the James Fort and its contents to reveal fascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of their endeavors and struggles, and of their relationships with the Virginia Indians. 121 color photos. 30 illustrations.William M. Kelso, head archaeologist of the Jamestown Recovery Project, takes readers literally to the soil where the Jamestown colony began, unearthing the James Fort and its contents to reveal fascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of their endeavors and struggles, and of their relationships with the Virginia Indians. 121 color photos. 30 illustrations.

William M. Kelso, head archaeologist of the Jamestown Recovery Project, takes readers literally to the soil where the Jamestown colony began, unearthing the James Fort and its contents to reveal fascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of their endeavors and struggles, and of their relationships with the Virginia Indians. 121 color photos. 30 illustrations.