Bob Rodgers asks about Bill Kelso's and Ivor Noel Humes rediscovery
of the first Jamestown fort. It is true that for many years it has
been supposed that the fort was entirely lost to erosion along the
James. However, one of the joys of 17th-c. archaeology in Virginia
is that it continues to surprise us. Kelso, using info from
excavations of several other early 17th-c. fortifications, along with
a careful re-reading of the documents, decided that a very
substantial portion of the fort--probably the majority of it could be
intact. He carefully traced out on maps his logical conclusions about
where it might be found, stck his shovel in the ground, so to speak,
and voila!  Insufficient excavation has been completed to pull out
the trumpets and call in the New York Times, but most archaeologists
familiar with the on-going work and the recent discoveries have
decided that Kelso and Noel Hume have pulled yet another bunny from
their hats. Their project is called Jamestown Rediscovery, and it
should be big news soon.
 
Dan Mouer