Bassman's Blog: Jamestowne

Thursday, October 16, 2014

We drove to Jamestown today, the oldest English Settlement in North America (1602). 3 ships with 140 men and boys set up s triangular fort here.

We went on two tours, one led by an archeologist and a second by a park ranger. Both spoke with great passion and both were excellent. We met for the tours at the monument below.

The archeologist took us on a tour of current digs. The remains that they find along with the bodies tell a story not captured in documents.

This was one of the cellars from one of the original structures. You can see the original fireplace in the right hand corner. Bones were found here that were sent off to the Smithsonian for analysis. The bones were from a 14 year old girl who was cannibalized during the starvation period of 1610. The colonies numbers dwindled from 300+ to just 60 that year as the Indians tried to starve them out.

The Ranger also gave a very impressive tour. He explained many of the reasons the settlement failed. Only 3 of every 10 settlers survived over the years.

The mound behind him in this picture was built and used over 200 years later during the civil war.

The photo in his hands below show when they first discovered the fort walls.

It's been established that Pocohantas got married to John Rolfe, the man that introduced tobacco to the area and was what drove the economy here, on the exact spot where Lynn is standing.

The church tower behind her was built in the 1600's.

Both tour guides talked about a Dr. Kelso with great reverence. He is the man that in 1994 put his reputation on the line, stating that the triangular fort was in this area. Before that it was believed that it had eroded Into the James River. After a year of study, he put his first shovel into the ground and by the end of that day, he had already gathered proof of his prediction. It took a number of years and many digs before most people believed his evidence. We found him working onsite! Here is the famous Dr Kelso with Lynn. I equate this with Bud's meeting of Korczazk Ziolkowski, the man that started carving Crazy Horse Mountain in 1948.