Three In One: New Archaeological Investigations on the Site of Jamestown's Last Three Churches

Summary

Shortly after acquiring part of Jamestown Island in the 1890s, founders of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities conducted excavations around the Jamestown church tower and churchyard. The 1901-1902 excavation records and drawings indicated that they uncovered foundations, tile and brick floors, tombstones, and burials associated with three churches. The earliest foundation was interpreted as the 1617 church, where the first General Assembly met in 1619. The second foundation uncovered was for the 1639 brick church, which burned in 1676 and was replaced by a third in the 1680s. In 2016, Jamestown Rediscovery began excavations inside the 1907 Memorial Church covering the site in order to expose all previous excavation work. Using modern methods of feature documentation, such as digital mapping and drone technology, archaeologists have recovered sufficient details to provide new interpretations of all three churches.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From Fort to Port: Examining the Legacies of 1619 at Jamestown   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 943