The fireplace, around which the family gathered, was one of the most important features in the Jamestown home. Its fire offered warmth in winter, afforded light at night, and cooked the family meals during the day. An oven, usually found at the back or at one side of the fireplace, baked the family bread and other foods. About the fireplace, many home chores were carried out, including spinning and sewing; and not far from the glow of the burning logs the children learned their daily lessons and received their early religious training. Social activities were enjoyed about the hearth, especially during the long winter evenings; and when a member of the family was ill, the fireplace and its accessories were in constant use. The fireplace was the first place visited by the housewife in the early morning, and was usually the last place where she performed her household duties late at night. A fine assortment of fireplace tools and accessories have been found at Jamestown, including iron tongs, shovels, andirons, parts of brass warming-pans, and a large fragment from a cast-iron fireback. One early 17th-century andiron recovered is attractively decorated with a cherub's head in relief. [Illustration: A FEW FIREPLACE TOOLS UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN.] [Illustration: AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY ANDIRON IN THE JAMESTOWN COLLECTION. NOTE THE CHERUB'S HEAD NEAR THE BASE.] COOKING UTENSILS AND ACCESSORIES A large and varied assortment of cooking utensils and kitchen accessories have been excavated, including kettles, pots, pans, skillets, frying pans, toasters, broilers, griddles, skimmers, skewers, spits, ladles, pothooks, trammels, cranes, trivets, cleavers, knives and forks, sieves, and colanders. While only a few are complete others are almost complete or at least easily recognizable. During the early years of the colony, people in England who planned to emigrate to Jamestown were advised to bring the following "Household implements: One Iron Pot, One Kettle, One large frying-pan, One gridiron, Two skillets, One Spit, Platters, dishes, spoones of wood." With the exception of the wooden items, all of the utensils listed have been excavated. [Illustration: A WROUGHT-IRON TRAMMEL USED FOR HANGING A POT FROM A FIREPLACE CRANE. THE ADJUSTABLE HOOK MADE IT POSSIBLE TO RAISE OR LOWER THE POT.] [Illustration: AN IRON POT AND POT FRAGMENT UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN--TYPES USED DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.] [Illustration: MANY EARTHENWARE VESSELS FOUND WERE USED FOR COOKING PURPOSES, INCLUDING BAKING DISHES, THREE-LEGGED POTS, AND COVERED POTS.] [Illustration: A FEW KITCHEN UTENSILS AND ACCESSORIES EXCAVATED AT JAMESTOWN: A LADLE, BRASS PAN, KNIFE BLADES, FORK, KETTLE FRAGMENTS, SPOUT, COLANDER FRAGMENTS, AND POT HOOKS.] [Illustration: A FAMILY ENJOYING A MEAL, ABOUT 1650. MANY OF THE EATING AND DRINKING VESSELS PORTRAYED, TOGETHER WITH MUCH OF THE TABLEWARE, ARE TYPES WHICH HAVE BEEN EXCAVATED. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)] Table Accessories