There is definite evidence that pottery was made at Jamestown over 300 years ago. A kiln site was uncovered in 1955, and nearby were found overfired pots, misshaped vessels, and mis-glazed pieces--undoubtedly from the "waster" pile. Also found near the kiln site were two complete pots, and hundreds of fragments from local-made vessels which were used in the colony between 1625 and 1650--indisputable evidence that crude, utilitarian, lead-glazed earthenware was made at Jamestown during the seventeenth century. Although made for everyday use, many of the pieces unearthed at the Jamestown kiln site are symmetrical in form and not entirely lacking in beauty. One can easily see that the craftsman took pride in shaping the pieces, as three centuries later the crude wares are still pleasing to behold. The Jamestown potter, indeed, was no young apprentice or mere farmer who potted on the side. The potter's art, then as now, was a highly specialized one, rooted in a long tradition. Our potter was an artisan, trained in the mysteries of a medieval craft, and it was probably he who first transplanted his ancient skills to the Virginia wilderness. The conjectural illustration shows a Jamestown potter shaping a vessel on his crude kick wheel. [Illustration: Research on painting by author. Photo courtesy National Park Service. Making Pottery At Jamestown About 1625 _Conjectural Painting_] [Illustration: _Photo courtesy National Park Service._ Examples Of Lead-Glazed Earthenware Made At Jamestown Between 1625 and 1640 The pottery vessels shown were found near the site of an early seventeenth-century pottery kiln discovered on Jamestown Island in 1833.] [Illustration: The Potter: The Potter 1, sitting over a Wheel 2, maketh Pots 4, Pitchers 5, Pipkins 6, Platters 7, Pudding-Pans 8, Juggs 9, Lids 10, &c of Potters-clay 3, afterwards he baketh them in an Oven 11, and glazeth them with White-Lead. A broken pot, affordeth Pot-sheards, 12. Courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D. C. Making Pottery In The Seventeenth Century The kick wheel used by the Jamestown potter may have resembled the one in the seventeenth-century engraving. From _Orbis Sensualium Pictus_ by Johann Comenius (London, 1685).] METALWORKING As early as 1608 two goldsmiths--William Johnson and Richard Belfield--emigrated to Jamestown. With them were two refiners and a jeweler. Although John Smith wrote that these artisans "never had occasion to exercise their craft," it is possible that they made a few small objects of silver, pewter, and latten metal (a brass-like alloy). In spite of the fact that few specimens of silver and pewter were found at Jamestown, seventeenth century records and inventories indicate that many Virginia families owned such wares, including cups, beakers, dishes, salts, salvers, tankards, porringers, bowls, and plates.