New Discoveries at Jamestown: Site of the First Successful English Settlement in AmericaCotter, John L. (John Lambert)
History
New Discoveries at Jamestown: Site of the First Successful English Settlement in America
Cotter, John L. (John Lambert)
Jamestown (Va.) -- Antiquities; Jamestown (Va.) -- History; Jamestown (Va.) -- Social life and customs
[Illustration: EARTHENWARE VESSELS USED FOR THE STORAGE OF FOODS. SOME
WERE MADE AT JAMESTOWN, SOME WERE IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND.]
[Illustration: "HARVESTING" ICE, ABOUT 1650. ARCHEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS
REVEALED THAT ICEHOUSES WERE BUILT ON THE HISTORIC ISLAND OVER 300 YEARS
AGO. (Painting by Sidney E. King.)]
A brick-lined storage compartment was found in the cellar (below floor
level) of one of the 17th-century buildings. It was used, undoubtedly,
for the storage of such easily spoiled foods as milk, cheese, eggs, and
cream. Wine, too, was probably kept in bottles in the cool compartment,
as many broken bottles were found inside.
An extremely important discovery was a large, deep, ice-storage pit,
believed to be the only 17th-century ice pit which has been excavated in
Virginia. The conjectural painting on page 48 shows its probable
appearance when in use about 1650. Ice-storage pits held dairy products,
meats, and other spoilable foods as well as ice. Pond ice was usually
cut and stored in the pit in late winter. Sometimes it lasted until late
summer or early autumn.
Clothing and Footwear
The Jamestown settlers of the middle class were usually dressed in hard
wearing, rough clothes made of homespun material, with a slightly better
(and perhaps more colorful) costume for Sunday and holiday wear. In 1622
each Englishman who planned to emigrate to Jamestown was advised to
supply himself with the following wearing apparel:
"One Monmouth cap [a flat, round cap].
Three falling bands [a neckband or collar of a shirt which turned
down over the shoulders].
Three shirts.
One waste-coate.
One suite of Canvase [a suit made of coarse cloth, such as cotton,
hemp, tow, or jute].
One suite of Frize [a woolen fabric with a nap].
One suite of Cloth.
Three paire of Irish stockins.
Foure paire of shooes.
One paire of garters.
One doozen of points [a point was a tie or string ending with an
anglet and used to join parts of a costume as doublet and hose]."
The women wore plain frocks and petticoats, although a few of the
wealthy ladies owned silk, satin, and velvet dresses. Bodices, as a
rule, were long pointed, and skirts were full and long.
Perhaps the most unique items of wearing apparel recovered at Jamestown
were several leather shoe soles and two almost-complete shoes, found in
a dirtlined well in association with artifacts of the 1625-50 period.
[Illustration: FOR EVERYDAY USE THE JAMESTOWN SETTLERS WORE HARDWEARING
CLOTHES MADE OF HOMESPUN CLOTH. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]
Other objects unearthed relating to wearing apparel and costume
accessories, include an excellent assortment of buckles, buttons, and
brass eyelets. Items in the collection which were used in the mending of
clothes include needles, pins, and thimbles (both brass and silver).
[Illustration: A LEATHER SHOE AND SEVERAL LEATHER SHOE SOLES WERE
UNCOVERED IN AN EARLY 17TH-CENTURY WELL.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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